SCARRED
by FrejaDK
Summary: Arizona is desperate for something new, something good to happen. Could an unexpected blind date be exactly what she has been missing?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

Arizona had had a rough couple of months. She had been promoted to the head of peds and had been swamped in difficult surgeries as well as paperwork from the moment she moved into her new office.

She loved Seattle Grace Hospital and she loved her colleagues there. They were the closest she had to a family in Seattle, and she couldn't imagine a better life anywhere else. But she needed a break. Or for something new and interesting to happen.

She'd contemplated going on a long vacation, but going alone just didn't seem so appealing. And her best friend, a trauma doctor named Theodora that everybody called Teddy, was deeply immerged in a project on bone fractures, so she couldn't take time off to accompany Arizona anywhere.

Tuesday night Arizona was sitting in the staff lounge with a few other doctors. They were all feeling miserable, and the relatively quiet night in the hospital gave them plenty of time to talk about exactly how miserable they were. Karev, a young doctor, was entertaining everybody, explaining how bad the last date he went on was.

"…and then she asked if she could have my leftovers as well!"

Everybody laughed out loud.

"At least you had time to go on a date, Karev" Teddy said.

"Aaaaand, you found someone who would go on a date with you!" Arizona chimed in "I love all of you guys, but I could really use some adult conversation that doesn't involve sutures, fractures or 'who's sleeping with whom in the on-call rooms'!"

"Hear, hear" Teddy said and lifted her cup of coffee in a cheer "To adult conversations!"

They all laughed and lifted their cups.

"Actually," a guy from plastics called Mark said "an old friend of mine just moved here from New York, and I was thinking if maybe you'd be up for a blind date?"

"God, yes!" Arizona breathed out eliciting another laugh from the group.

Mark chuckled.

"Don't worry, I know exactly how desperate that sounded" Arizona said with a slight blush in her cheeks "I mean, I need for something – _anything_ – to happen"

"It's okay, Robbins. I'll set it up. How is Friday night?"

"Perfect!" the blonde said. She didn't really care to ask who this friend was. She just needed to get out of the hospital and meet someone who wasn't wearing scrubs. And have a million glasses of wine.

Later that night she got a text message from Mark.

 **Friday at 7:30. The Italian place on Cherry Street. Wear something sexy! – M**

She shook her head at the message.

 **Alright. Thanks, Mark! – A**

When Friday night rolled around, Arizona spent a long time trying to figure out what to wear. She realized earlier in the day that she knew absolutely nothing about the date, and since Mark was nowhere to be found and therefore couldn't elaborate on the nature of the person she was meeting, she was now trying on different clothes, wondering what would be a good thing to wear.

She settled on a blue dress that stopped right below the knee and she let her blonde curls hang lose.

The restaurant was quiet when Arizona arrived. The hostess showed her to a table, and she sat down. She felt nervous all of a sudden. She'd been excited about going on a date. Excited about meeting someone new. But she kept thinking about Mark who was the hospital man whore, and it made her wonder if this date was going to be like Mark. She was a big fan of sex, and she'd had plenty of one-night stands in Seattle, but something inside her really, really wanted something a bit more committed.

She looked at the clock. It was 7:45. Maybe she was being stood up? She looked around and saw a dark haired latina enter the restaurant and walk directly towards the blonde's table. The woman looked determined and was sporting a figure hugging black dress that made Arizona jealous of both the clothes and the woman's curves.

Expecting the woman to pass her table, Arizona reached for her wine glass and looked over the menu. The woman didn't pass the table though, and when Arizona looked up, she was standing right in front of the blonde.

"Arizona?"

The blonde nodded slowly.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. The traffic was a bit heavier than expected and I didn't have your number…I'm Callie"

The brunette reached out her hand to great Arizona. She had a radiant smile.

Arizona shook the woman's hand, but looked at the brunette questioningly. Who was this woman? And why was she talking to the blonde?

A few seconds passed, and then the Latina spoke.

"Oh no…Mark didn't tell you I was a woman, did he?"

Arizona swallowed.

"Uh…"

"Let me guess; You don't date women?"

Arizona wasn't quite sure what was going on.

"I don't…"

"Oh" Callie said and clenched her jaw "I am going to kill him" she said under her breath.

And then it dawned on Arizona what had happened. She stood up.

"Oh my God. He thought…I…I'm not…I mean…I…I…"

The latina closed her eyes as if to steady herself.

"It's okay, don't worry" She motioned to the waitress that she was going to take care of the bill for whatever Arizona was drinking, and then put a hundred dollar bill on the table.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Arizona. If you see him before I do, tell him that I'm coming for him" she deadpanned, and then she turned around and walked away.

It all happened so fast that Arizona barely had time to process. She was shocked and a bit thrown off balance by the situation.

She looked at the brunette as she exited the restaurant, then sat down, and finished her wine while staring into the air.

This was for sure going to beat Karev's dating story.

First she would deal with Mark though, and the next day she marched directly towards the nurses' station where Mark was leaning against the counter, flirting with not just one but three nurses.

"MARK!" she yelled at the man as she approached him.

"Hi Robbins! How was the da…"

He didn't get to finish the sentence before Arizona had grabbed him by his scrub top and pulled him into the staff lounge.

"I can't believe you!" she growled at him as the door closed behind them.

"What?" he asked, oblivious to where Arizona was going with her blue eyes full of rage.

"A woman? You set me up with a WOMAN?"

Mark opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"A woman, Mark?"

"But, you told me…"

Arizona crossed her arms, tilted her head, and arched her eye brows. She clearly wanted an explanation.

"…You told me at Meredith's party that you wondered what it would be like to date a woman. I just thought that maybe you'd like Callie…But I guess not?"

"Jesus Christ, Mark! Things I tell you in private, when I'm drunk out of my mind, don't count out here in reality. Besides, I think the key word in your sentence is 'wondered' and not 'wanted'. I am not gay!"

"Okay, okay! Don't kill me" he lifted his hands in surrender.

"Oh, I won't kill you, but maybe the gay woman you set me up with will" Arizona spat out, turned around, and left the room.

"Shit!" Mark whispered.

A few seconds later he got a text message from Callie.

 **You are NEVER going to set me up with anyone ever again, Mark Sloan! A straight woman? Seriously? – C**

He decided to smooth things over with humor.

 **Does that mean that you're backing down from the challenge? ;-) – M**

 **I hate you! – C**

 **Well, I love you :-) Drinks soon? – M**

 **Yes, when I no longer feel the urge to cut off your penis, we can have drinks – C**

Mark chuckled and put his phone away. Now he would have to focus on mending his friendship with Arizona.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The next day Arizona was doing a fibula repair on an eight-year-old with Teddy. It was an easy procedure, and everyone in the OR was chatting away.

"How was the date?" Teddy said and nudged Arizona's side.

Arizona rolled her eyes.

"Oh, it was great! And it lasted all of 2 minutes. Sloan set me up with a woman"

"What?!"

"Yeah. Nice, right?"

Teddy burst into laughter.

"That's new, even for Mark"

"Yeah" Arizona sighed.

"Was she nice? Good looking?" Teddy asked.

"Uh…I don't know. We didn't really talk much. She left. But yeah, she was good looking. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I'm just curious" Teddy winked at Arizona "Maybe Mark wanted to introduce you guys to each other in the hopes that he could then have a threesome with you"

Arizona furrowed her brow and looked at her friend questioningly.

"You know, him being such a man whore and all" Teddy finished.

"He thinks with his penis, but he's not _that_ stupid, Teddy. And he's actually a nice guy. I just don't understand how he could think that I…that I…."

"That you aspired to become a woman lover?" Teddy laughed.

"Exactly!" Arizona chuckled.

She had never been with a woman, and had never contemplated the possibility. But she found Mark's openness and relaxed approach endearing, and she couldn't help but wonder exactly what Callie was thinking. What had the brunette said to Mark about their short encounter?

She shook the thought and concentrated on the operation instead, but somewhere, in the back of her mind, she had a feeling that since Callie was Marks friend, she'd probably be seeing more of the latina.

She was right.

Two weeks later Arizona was working in the ER. It wasn't a busy shift and she spent most of her time making sure the interns didn't get into trouble.

At 3 o'clock an intern asked her to come and look at a little girl who had had an accident.

Arizona pulled the curtain to the ER closure aside and was met with two sets of identical eyes and almost identical faces. One of them belonged to the date that had walked out on Arizona. The other one belonged to a girl who couldn't be more than 5 years old.

Callie looked surprised and opened her mouth to say something, but the intern beat her to it.

"Ella Torres, 5 years old, play ground accident, probable broken arm and/or dislocated shoulder"

Arizona stared between Callie and the girl and finally rested her eyes on the dark haired woman. She didn't say anything which made the brunette arch her eye brows expectantly. She also smiled.

The intern cleared his throat.

"Oh…uhm" Arizona gathered herself and put on her pediatrics face "Hi, Ella. My name is Doctor Robbins. How are you doing?"

"Not so good" the little girl answered meekly.

"She fell from a swing" Callie said "and I think she hurt her arm pretty bad. She doesn't want me to touch it"

"Okay" Arizona said "I'm just going to check out your arm, Ella. Let me know if it hurts, okay?"

The girl nodded slowly.

Arizona placed her hands on the upper arm of the girl and could feel right away, that the girl had a dislocated shoulder.

"Listen, Ella, your shoulder is out of place…"

The girl gasped.

"…but the good news is that I have super magic hands that can cure any out-of-place shoulder"

The girl looked at Arizona as the blonde wiggled her fingers, earning a small smile from the child. Arizona glanced at Callie for a second. The brunette was looking at Ella and was smiling.

"Are they really magic?" the girl asked with wide eyes and looked at the intern. He opened his eyes wide, smiled, and nodded affirmatively.

"Yes! They're really magic" Arizona said "All I have to do is hold your shoulder here, do this…"

Without warning, Arizona popped the shoulder back in place.

"OW!" the girl yelled and looked at Arizona in shock, tears starting to appear.

"…and then my magic hands will pull this lollipop out of my pocket and give it to you for being such a brave girl" Arizona smiled, and when the girl saw the very large red lollipop she forgot all about the pain.

"I'm going to make sure your shoulder doesn't get hurt again by putting a sling on it, Ella" the blonde told the girl and grabbed a sling from the table next to her. While she adjusted the length of the sling she wondered if this spitting image of the latina was in fact Callie's daughter.

The blonde paused her thoughts for a second, contemplating why she was even interested, but then she immediately became intrigued by something else. The way Callie was dressed.

The brunette was in black slacks and a crisp white shirt. Around her neck was an untied tie. Arizona noticed a jacked on the chair behind the brunette. It had shoulder tags on it.

"Going somewhere fancy?" Arizona asked the brunette while looking up and down the latina's attire. She was tying Ella's arm in the sling as the girl enjoyed the raspberry treat.

"Going to work actually" Callie said.

"Oh" Arizona said. She was racking her brain, trying to figure out what kind of occupation entailed wearing a jacket with shoulder tags. The only thing she could come up with was something in the military.

"You can ask" Callie chuckled.

Arizona blushed a little when being caught so obviously wondering about the brunette.

"Yeah…uh…what do you do?"

"I'm a pilot" Callie said.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. You sound surprised?"

"Uhm…yeah…I mean, I saw the jacket and I thought that maybe you were in the military"

"I was a fighter pilot in the air force until a couple of years back. But these days I fly commercial. Delta Air Lines"

"Oh…" Arizona just said. The whole situation was a little bit awkward and Arizona struggled to figure out why.

"My military history is more of a second date kind of topic though" Callie said and winked at the blonde.

The brunette seemed very confident and relaxed, standing completely straight and looking directly at Arizona, and it disarmed the blonde. She smiled.

"Are we done here?" Callie asked and motioned to Ella.

"Oh…uh…yeah" Arizona scribbled something on her prescription pad "Give her some of this if the pain gets bad. She'll be uncomfortable for a few days. And keep her away from swing sets for a while"

Callie grabbed her jacket and took the prescription from Arizona's hand.

"Thanks, Arizona"

She turned towards Ella and said "Can you thank Doctor Robbins, Ella?"

"Thank you, Doctor Robbins" the little girl said, the lollipop in her mouth making it hard for her to speak. She jumped off the exam table and grabbed Callie's hand.

Callie smiled at Arizona one last time before the two left, and as Arizona watched them walk towards the exit. Arizona squinted her eyes, imagining what the tall brunette would look like in fighter pilot uniform.

Later, while she was having dinner with Teddy in the hospital cafeteria, the image of Callie lingered in the blonde's head.

"A female pilot? That's about the sexiest thing I've ever heard. And I'm not even gay!" Teddy said with wide eyes.

Arizona was telling Teddy about her encounter with Callie.

"Right. But would you date her?" Arizona shot back.

Teddy looked hesitant.

"Didn't think so" the blonde said.

"Come on! The last 50 dates you and I have gone on have been disasters. Men are idiots. And I heard lesbian sex is awesome. Maybe Mark was trying to do you a favor" Teddy said with a teasing smile.

"Shut up, Teddy!"

"All I'm saying is that you've been whining for months now, wanting something interesting to happen. A hot pilot lands in your lap, and all of a sudden you turn into a total prude?" Teddy chuckled at her own words. She loved teasing the blonde.

Arizona rolled her eyes.

"You can have her, Teddy" the blonde said with a smirk.

"Have whom?" a voice came from behind the two. It was Mark, and he sat down next to the two women.

"Your friend" Teddy said "Callie"

"Oh, I don't mean to be rude, but I don't think Teddy is Callie's type" Mark said before biting into a carrot.

"What do you mean?" Teddy said with a mock insulted look on her face.

"Nothing…just…she likes Robbins" he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world while not looking up from his food.

"She told you that?" Arizona blurted out.

"Not in so many words. She wrote me. I believe her message said 'Robbins is alright'" Mark answered.

"'Robbins is alright'?" Arizona said in disbelief.

Teddy laughed out loud.

"Wow, Mark, she really has a way with words" Arizona mumbled and started gathering her things "Now, can we please stop talking about this?"

"Why were you guys even talking about Callie?" he asked.

"Because she stopped by the ER with her daughter today" Arizona said.

"Her daughter?" Mark furrowed his brow "Callie doesn't have a daughter"

"But the girl, Ella…"

"Oh, Ella!" Mark said with a smile "That's her niece. Her brother's kid"

"Really? They look so much alike" Arizona said.

"Yeah, the Torres genes are pretty strong" Mark chuckled "Callie's brother is raising the girl on his own, so Callie moved here to be closer to them. To help out when needed"

"Oh…that's nice" Arizona mumbled.

"She's a really great woman. We went to high school together and we've been best friends ever since"

Arizona and Teddy looked at Mark with inquisitive eyes. He had never come across as someone who had 'best friends', but the way he spoke about Callie was…soft? Caring? The two women looked at each other with arched eye brows. And then they got up to get to surgery on time.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

A couple of weeks later Mark was throwing a party. Arizona arrived around midnight after she finished a late shift.

This was the first party she'd been to for a long time, and she was pretty excited for something fun to be happening. She needed to drink and dance.

When she walked through the door to Mark's apartment she was surprised by the amount of people there. She saw a lot of familiar faces but also a lot of people she'd never met.

She walked around and said hi to the people from the hospital. She found a drunk Teddy in the kitchen who was mixing drinks and singing 'GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FU-UN'. They talked for a while, but Teddy was pretty preoccupied by a young doctor from the cardio department, so Arizona decided to go back to the living room where all the dancing was happening.

She stood in the corner of the room for a while, drinking, looking at people and giggling at how drunk some of them were. And then all of a sudden she spotted Callie across the room. The brunette was talking to another woman and they both looked pretty invested in the conversation.

Arizona's eyes travelled up and down Callie. The latina was beautiful. No doubt about it. And tonight she was wearing a tight red dress that stopped right above her knees. And black heels that matched her long dark, wavy hair that fell over her shoulders.

Arizona caught herself thinking that with how gorgeous Callie was, the brunette probably didn't have any problems finding willing women.

Callie must have felt Arizona's eyes on her because she turned and met Arizona's gaze. She threw the blonde a large smile.

The blonde felt caught, and she also felt something else. Heat in her chest? Callie had an amazing smile, and as the brunette gave the woman she was talking to a courteous nod and made her way towards Arizona, the blonde's mind was travelling at a hundred miles per hour.

"Doctor Robbins" the latina simply said.

What came out of Arizona's mouth was not very well planned.

"'Alright'? You think I'm 'alright'?"

"What?"

Arizona leaned in a little so that the brunette could hear her better over the music.

"You wrote Mark. You said that I was 'alright'…"

"Oh, that's lesbian for 'I want to press her up against a wall and have my way with her'" the brunette said and gave Arizona the most sexy wink in the world.

"….I am more than alright. I am hot. And I am an incredible doctor…and…and…what did you just say?"

Callie laughed and simply said "Thanks for taking care of Ella. You and your magic hands are all she's been talking about"

Then the latina turned around and left for the kitchen, leaving Arizona, mouth open in shock.

The blonde looked around. She shook her head. She didn't know why, but Callie was getting to her. The mixture of confidence and unbearable lightness in the latina's way of approaching her made Arizona annoyed...or maybe just confused.

She decided to find Teddy and talk to her about it. But when she finally found Teddy, her friend was in one of Mark's bedrooms doing some heavy petting with the cardio doctor.

Arizona leaned against the wall in the hall. It had been a while since she'd been with anyone herself, and she couldn't remember feeling particularly attracted to anyone for a while either. At least not enough to be panting on a bed with someone like she had just witnessed Teddy do.

She walked back into the living room, and the first things she saw – through the dancing crowd – was Callie, on the balcony, kissing the woman she had been talking to earlier.

Witnessing the kiss gave Arizona a feeling of defeat that she couldn't quite explain. Maybe she felt left out because everybody else seemed to be having fun and hooking up?

She looked around and her eyes fell on Robert, a paramedic who had just transferred from Chicago. He looked nice. He was nice. And right then he looked a bit lost. Just like herself.

She walked over to him.

"Hey" she said and lifted her drink.

He seemed pleased to see her, and they soon engaged in light chatter. As he was explaining how Seattle traffic was so much easier to maneuver through than where he had lived in Chicago, Arizona studied his face. He was handsome. And sweet. She bit the inside of her lip. Maybe she could kiss him. Before she had time to process the thought though, a guy from the dermatology department showed up, and Robert introduced him to Arizona as his boyfriend. She did her best to not sound surprised and after talking to them for a few minutes, she excused herself to go to the bathroom even though she didn't really need it. What she did need was a second to think.

Now she was in front of the mirror, looking at herself, and trying to figure out what kind of a mood she was in exactly. A part of her wanted to get out and another part wanted to stay. She just didn't know _why_ she wanted to stay.

All of a sudden she could hear someone in the hall talking on their phone.

"I know! I mean, if I'm gonna try this it may as well be with someone hot, right? Oh my God! I can't believe I kissed a woman! I'm soooooo nervous! So you really think I should go home with her?" The woman giggled "I wonder what she'll do to me"

It was the woman Callie had been kissing on the balcony. Arizona closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she left the bathroom, rounded the corner and went into the kitchen to get her purse. Callie was the only person in there.

Arizona barely looked at the latina.

"She's ready for you"

The latina looked at the blonde questioningly.

"The girl you were kissing. She's decided she wants to have sex with you"

Arizona didn't know why the words came out with a touch of venom. She took her purse.

"Oh, yeah, I overheard the conversation too," Callie said with a face that showed no emotion "But I don't think so"

Arizona tilted her head and looked at the latina questioningly. Arizona didn't think Callie would be the kind to say no to casual sex.

"I'm not a circus horse, Arizona. I like sex, but I don't like being anyone's test run"

Callie started walking out of the kitchen.

Arizona swallowed. She suddenly regretted her words. And the assumptions they had carried. Callie was new in this city. She had been nice. Flirty, yes, but nice. She was a friend of Mark's and so was Arizona, and still it wasn't like Arizona had been overtly welcoming. Actually, she'd been acting nothing but awkward. She decided to extend an olive branch.

"Uhm…Callie?"

The brunette stopped.

"Would you like a drink?"

Callie looked pensive. She pursed her lips. And then she nodded.

"Yeah. A drink would be nice"

Arizona turned to the kitchen table and poured whiskey into two glasses and handed one of them to the latina.

"No ice?" she asked as Callie lifted the glass to drink.

"No ice" the brunette simply said.

They stood there for a while without saying anything, listening to the wild party that was going on in the living room.

The alcohol burned its way down Arizona's throat and instantly filled her body with warmth.

"So," Callie started "have you gone on any blind dates lately?"

Arizona chuckled. The latina's disarming question was what they both needed to loosen the tension between them. A tension that Arizona didn't quite know why was there.

"No, no I haven't. You?" the blonde said and looked at Callie.

"Well, yes, Mark set me up with another doctor from the hospital. Maya?"

"Doctor Christensen? Wow, he really knows how to pick the non-gay ones, huh?" Arizona laughed.

"Oh, she's gay alright" Callie said in a knowing voice and took another sip of her drink.

It took a second for the meaning of Callie's words to sink in and once Arizona realized that Doctor Christensen was in fact gay, and that Callie maybe was so certain of this because they had had sex or at least kissed, she felt a little stupid.

"I…I really don't have one of those…uh…"

"Gaydars?" Callie interrupted.

"Yeah" Arizona breathed out with a smile.

"That's okay" Callie said and emptied her glass "Me neither. Sometimes I'm not sure until I'm actually naked with people." She winked at the blonde.

Arizona nearly choked on the whiskey. Her mind immediately started circling around whether Callie had actually slept with Doctor Christensen. And she was trying to figure out if she could just ask Callie about it or not. The woman seemed pretty straight forward, but Arizona didn't want to seem too curious. And why on earth was she even curious about it? She furrowed her brow.

Her train of thought was interrupted when the woman Callie had kissed came into the kitchen. As soon as she saw Callie, she turned into a cat, batting her eyelashes at the latina and moving very slowly through the room until she was standing right in front of the brunette.

"Erica" Callie said.

"Are you hiding from me?" the woman said seductively while placing a hand on Callie's shoulder.

Callie grabbed the hand and slowly removed it from her body.

"Actually, Erica, I never hide. And I am always honest. And the truth is, I am not interested in you"

Arizona could hardly believe the straightforwardness of Callie's words. The latina really didn't beat around the bush.

Erica looked surprised, shocked even. She pulled back a little.

"Uhm, o-kay…I thought…I mean…you…"

"We kissed, yes. And I'm flattered that you find me hot, but I will not – what was it you said to your friend on the phone – ' _do_ ' anything to you tonight or ever"

Realization dawned on Erica. Callie had heard all of her little teenage rant and immature giggles on the phone.

Callie never looked away and Arizona watched as the latina's gaze weighed heavily on the woman who looked very embarrassed.

Erica looked down, turned around, and walked out of the room fast.

Callie slowly put her empty glass down and turned to Arizona.

"With that, I think I will retire for the night" Callie said. She didn't look sad, but there was something in her eyes that Arizona couldn't quite decipher. "Thanks for the drink, Arizona" she then said, nodded at the blonde, turned around and left.


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

 **(FYI: I know nothing about baseball. Forgive me)**

A month later Arizona and Teddy were standing by the surgical board, looking at their schedule for the day.

"Are you going to sign up for the game?" Teddy asked while studying the board.

"What game?" Arizona asked.

"The baseball game. You didn't hear about it?"

"No"

"It's a charity thing. Mark and what's her name…Callie…are arranging it. It's for a community project…uh…young homeless people…in Renton that she supports. You pay 200 dollars to participate and the losing team will put in an additional donation" Teddy explained "And then we'll drinks beers" She smiled.

"Callie…Callie is involved in a charity?" Arizona asked but tried not to sound too interested.

"Well, yeah. I think it's called 'Homeless Hearts' or something like that. Mark says she basically runs the place."

"Oh…"

"Will you sign up? We never have time to go out together anymore" Teddy whined "This would be a whole day of hanging out and having fun"

Arizona looked tentative.

"Come on! All the cool kids have already signed up" Teddy then said, threw Arizona the most convincing smile she could muster, and batted her eyelashes.

Arizona laughed.

"Well, then I better sign up too"

"Yay!"

The following Sunday morning Arizona regretted her decision. It was a very hot day, and she didn't feel like her baseball skills would live up to how competitive things had already gotten. Callie had stopped by the hospital for lunch a couple of days earlier, and even though Arizona was sitting all the way at the other end of the cafeteria, she couldn't help but notice the competitive banter going on between Callie and Mark. When Callie left, she yelled over her shoulder "Bring your best, Mark Sloan. You'll need it!"

And now Arizona was sitting in her car in the parking lot of a high school in Renton, looking at some of her colleagues and some people she didn't know that she assumed were from Callie's team.

She slowly got out of the car and walked to where Mark was standing. He looked serious as he studied the members of the other team that were now warming up in the field.

"Hey Robbins" he said.

"Hey" she breathed out, not sounding too enthusiastic.

Arizona also looked at the other team. Callie was stretching her thigh muscles while talking to two of her team members. Her jersey said 'TORRES' and she had the number 4. She looked like a natural in her black baseball cap. And she looked happy.

"I'm trying to figure out who their star player is. And what the greatest weakness of a group of pilots would be" Mark then said.

"They're all pilots?" Arizona said in awe. Somehow she'd always found that occupation fascinating. Even though she hated flying.

"Yeah" Mark said "Pilots against doctors. And we _will_ beat them! I can't lose to Callie. She'll forever be on my ass about it"

Arizona chuckled.

"Somehow I think she'd be a more graceful winner than you would" she said and winked at Mark.

As soon as everyone had arrived, the game started.

Callie started as the pitcher and she kept making people strike out. It was really kind of pitiful how bad the doctors were doing. When Mark stepped up to bat though, he managed to actually hit the ball, and after that, the doctor team had a bit more luck actually getting from the home plate to the bases.

When they reached the end of the seventh inning, Callie batted and hit the ball all the way out into the parking lot, effectively ending the game with a win for the pilots.

She was immediately surrounded by her happy team members who started chanting "pilots, pilots, pilots"

"I guess _she_ is their star player" Arizona said to Mark with a chuckle and patted his back as they walked out of the field.

"Shut up, Robbins" he said.

Both teams gathered at the dugout and Callie pulled open two large coolers full of beers.

"Have a drink! The doctors will pay" she simply said, turned around and looked at Mark, raised a challenging eyebrow, and then showed her megawatt smile in a disarming laugh.

Everyone soon followed her, laughed and cheered. Even Mark. Arizona found herself smiling too. This day, the game, had turned out to be quite fun, and she was looking forward to hanging out with her colleagues and the team of pilots for the rest of the day.

A few hours later they were all in the back yard of the community center where the charity they had played for had its headquarters. People were relaxing and simply hanging out. There was music playing, and a few people were playing volleyball.

Arizona and Teddy were standing by the large barbecue, talking to one of the pilots. He was pretty good looking, and Teddy was practically drooling. She soon walked off with the guy who wanted to show her the views from the community center's front yard.

That left Arizona standing alone.

Callie came over to her.

"Hey" the brunette said and smiled at the blonde.

"Hey"

This was the first time they talked to each other that day. Callie had been busy all day.

Arizona was suddenly dumbfounded, and it annoyed her because she didn't know why, but the latina had such a strong presence that it made Arizona slightly nervous.

"Great game" she finally managed to say "Did you raise a lot of money?"

"Yeah, it was really good! Thanks for coming out"

"Of course" Arizona said "I'm more worried what the loss has done to Mark's self esteem"

Her comment made Callie laugh. And that in return made an inexplicable warmth spread in Arizona's chest. Making Callie laugh felt nice. She studied the brunette as Callie took a drink of her beer. She wondered what Callie was like. What her place looked like. If she was good at her job. The blonde was quickly pulled out of her thoughts though when Mark walked over to them and tried to save his honor by joking with Callie.

Arizona just stood there, enjoying the loving banter between the two friends. She'd always liked Mark and she saw something in him that not a lot of other people saw; warmth and love. She was never romantically interested in him. Instead, they talked. About ups and downs. They had become quite close. And Arizona thought to herself that maybe her initial awkwardness and resistance towards Callie was simply because she was a little bit jealous that Mark had a best friend. And that this best friend was now living in the same city as them.

Now though, she was pretty sure that Callie was alright. It made her relax a little.

The relaxation lasted only until a week later when Arizona found herself on a date with a guy called Peter that Teddy knew through a cousin. He was nice. But also very boring. And as soon as they ordered their food, Arizona was already regretting agreeing to having dinner instead of just coffee with the guy.

Halfway through their dinner, two people walked into the restaurant. Arizona looked up from the very long story her date was telling and saw Callie and another woman being led to a table not too far from where Arizona was sitting. The brunette looked happy and so did the woman she was with.

Arizona stared for a few moments, and then shook her head and returned her attention to her date. During the rest of their dinner though, she kept being distracted by Callie's laughter, and whenever Arizona looked over at the latina, Callie half the time looked like she was in the middle of telling a fun and interesting story and the other half of the time like she was listening intently to the woman she was with. And she looked amazing, which was something that somehow fixed itself in Arizona's brain. Callie. Looked. Amazing.

Arizona furrowed her brow.

At the softball game Callie had been dressed in shorts, a baseball jersey, and a baseball cap. She'd looked sporty. The day she came to the hospital with her niece she'd looked very put together. Tough. And now she was in a curve hugging dress with her hair pulled back and up in a French-braid-messy-bun kind of hairdo, looking like a million dollars. She had a masculine femininity or feminine masculinity to her that Arizona couldn't quiet grasp.

And then all of a sudden, Callie looked over, meeting the blonde's gaze, almost causing Arizona to choke on her wine.

Callie broke out a smile and gave Arizona a small wave, but she also sent her a challenging look as if to say 'I know you were staring'. And then the latina turned back to the woman she was with.

Arizona quickly looked down at her plate. She swallowed. What the hell? Why hadn't she just smiled and waved back at the latina? A week earlier they had chatted and it had been comfortable. Easy. And now all of a sudden it was weird?

After Callie's wave, Arizona managed not to look at the brunette for the remaining half an hour of her date. As she walked out of the restaurant with Peter, she even pulled herself together enough to finally smile and wave back at Callie. She didn't want things to be awkward. Why were things awkward? Was she really jealous of Mark and Callie's friendship? Or was it something else?

She didn't bother making small talk with Peter and instead pretty quickly said goodnight and jumped into a taxi. She needed to go home, sleep, and get to work the next morning so she could talk to Teddy.

When she tracked down Teddy the next day, her friend let her babble for a while.

"…I mean, how often does she go on dates? This is at least the second one since her and I…and…and I think she gave me a weird look…and…"

Teddy gave the blonde a tired look and simply said "Did you spend the whole date looking at her instead of at Peter?"

"No!" the blonde retorted.

"Then why is she all you talk about?"

"Uh…she is NOT all I talk about. I told you he was boring"

"Yeah, but you didn't elaborate much. Or maybe you don't have much to say about him because you were busy eyeing the pilot" Teddy wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oh please!" Arizona said. She tried to sound as if Teddy was very wrong in her assumption, but the truth was the blonde didn't even completely remember what her and Peter had talked about after Callie walked into the restaurant.

Teddy got up from the staff lounge couch and walked to the door.

"He won the Arctic Circle Race last year, you know" Teddy said.

"Who?"

"Peter"

"Oh…well maybe he should have talked about stuff like that instead of about his ex-wife and their collection of embroidered pillow cases!"

They both chuckled, and then Teddy left the room.

Later, when Arizona was eating alone in the cafeteria, convincing herself that Teddy hadn't _really_ listened to what she was saying about Callie, a conversation at a nearby table caught her attention.

"How did the baseball game go last week?" a nurse asked the young doctor Karev.

"It was fun. The pilots won. Their best player…uh…Callie Torres…sort of hit the ball out of the park" he answered.

Doctor Maya Christensen was also at the table, and when she heard Callie's name, her head shot up in surprise.

"You know Callie Torres?" she quickly asked.

"Well, I've only met her that once" Karev answered.

"Oh…" doctor Christensen breathed out.

"Didn't you go on a date with her" an ortho nurse asked Christensen.

"Yeah"

"Really?" Karev asked and wiggled his eyebrows "She is HOT! How was it?"

Doctor Christensen smiled timidly.

"It was…good…but it was a one time thing…I guess"

"You didn't like her?"

"God, yes, she's incredible. Amazing. A great kisser" Her cheeks blushed when she realized that she had shared something so intimate.

Arizona pretended like she wasn't paying attention to the conversation, but she was actually almost falling off her chair, trying to take it all in.

Somehow the idea of Callie kissing doctor Christensen annoyed her. Arizona didn't dislike Christensen. She just found her slightly uninteresting. Why had Mark set Callie up with her?

The blonde took a bit of comfort in knowing that apparently not much had happened between Callie and Maya. But then Arizona's thoughts travelled to the woman Callie had had dinner with the night before. Was that also someone Mark knew? Was it even a date?

Arizona closed her eyes and furrowed her brow.

Why the fuck did she care?

She packed up the rest of her lunch and left the cafeteria to go and clear her head with some surgery.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

When Mark invited a group of colleagues over for a movie night a week later, Arizona welcomed the distraction. Even though she had bitched about the lack of dates for a long time, she was now already tired of dating and tired of thinking about other people dating. She needed her friends, a cheesy movie, and some relaxed conversation.

When she stepped into Marks' place and saw the familiar faces of the regular movie crowd, she relaxed her shoulders. She lifted the bottle of wine in her hand and yelled.

"I'M HERE! NOW PUT ON SOME SAPPY ROMANTIC CRAP. OH, AND GET ME A CORKSCREW!"

Everybody laughed. A low chuckle coming from behind the blonde caught Arizona's attention and she turned around.

It was Callie. Callie in tight black jeans and a cute hoodie who was smiling at her.

"Hey there" the brunette said.

"Oh, hey" Arizona breathed out. She wasn't expecting to see Callie there, and seeing the latina took her by more of a surprise than it probably should. And she didn't quite know why.

"Do you always announce your arrival like that?" Callie said in a teasing tone.

"Uhm…well…no…not always" Arizona stuttered.

It was starting to annoy Arizona that she seemed to get so flustered around the latina. It annoyed her because she couldn't explain it. She also couldn't help it.

Luckily Teddy interrupted the blonde's thoughts with an "Everybody ready?"

People sat down and soon they were watching whatever romantic comedy Teddy had brought.

Mark and Callie were both on a mattress on the floor. Callie had her legs stretched out over Mark's and her hand was slowly moving back and forth through Mark's hair.

They looked very comfortable.

That's when Arizona decided that her unease around Callie really _was_ because she was slightly jealous of Mark and Callie's relationship. The conclusion made her feel better. She could handle jealousy. She smiled at herself.

After the second movie, when Arizona was behind the breakfast bar cutting some fruit, Callie walked up to her.

Arizona simply looked up at her with a smile. She wasn't going to let a bit of jealousy get in the way of…maybe getting to know Callie better.

"If you have melon back there, I'll love you forever" Callie said and stood on her tippy toes to get a look at what Arizona was cutting.

Immediately Arizona's cool crumbled.

"No melon, sorry" she said. She had stopped cutting. And she simply stared at the brunette.

"That's fine. I see you have pineapple, so I'll forgive you" the latina said and winked at Arizona.

Arizona swallowed. And then she managed to pull herself together enough to start a real conversation. Without stuttering. She was obviously going to be seeing Callie regularly. And Callie was nice. There was no reason they couldn't become friends.

"Mark says you moved into an apartment on Yesler Way?"

"Yeah, I finally moved out of my brother's house. Feels good to have my own place. And I'm slowly getting to know the neighborhood. It's really nice"

Callie seemed very happy. And her smile was contagious.

"Well, congratulations" the blonde said "And…and the date went well the other day?"

Arizona now kept her eyes on the fruit as to not let Callie see the look in her eyes. She didn't want to come off nosy.

"Oh, that wasn't a date. Marianne is just an old friend. But it looked like you were trapped with Mister Boring of the Year?"

Arizona couldn't help but laugh. Somehow she was relieved that Callie hadn't gone on _another_ date, and she was also enjoying the carefree chat.

They chatted for about twenty minutes and Arizona felt really relaxed. The latina was very easy to talk to. She had an almost soothing voice. And a disarming laughter.

At some point Arizona noticed how two of the interns from the hospital were staring at Callie. They had a hungry look in their eyes. The primitiveness in their obvious fascination made the blonde laugh out, causing Callie to look at her questioningly.

"What?" the latina said.

"Nothing" Arizona chuckled "It's just, I can tell that a few of my male colleagues seem to have taken a liking to you"

She pointed towards the men.

"They're staring"

Callie turned around and met the gazes of the men, and then she turned back around and looked at Arizona.

"And does that make you jealous?" Callie said with a smug smile.

Arizona opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Or do you find it funny that they look at me even though they can't have me? Because I look at you even though I can't have you, and I don't find that very funny"

Arizona's eyes went wide at the latina's words. Her mind froze.

"Callie…I didn't…"

Callie burst into laughter.

"I'm just kidding, Arizona. Relax!"

She winked at the blonde. But the blonde couldn't relax. Something was up. And Arizona didn't know what exactly it was. But it had to do with Callie. That was for sure.

As Arizona's mind slowly started kicking into gear again, Callie continued their conversation as if nothing had happened.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something. Homeless Hearts, you know, the charity I run in Renton…uh…we could really use a pediatrician for some consults. It's nothing big. Mostly pink eyes, sprained fingers, concussions, and coughs. But without a volunteer doctor, the kids wouldn't get treatment. And some of the older ones could really use some good advice. We help homeless youth but also try to be there for young parents who can't afford healthcare"

"And…you…want my help?" Arizona still hadn't completely recovered from Callie's joke. Her imbalance went unnoticed by the latina though.

"Well, yeah, that's sort of why I'm telling you this. I'd ask Mark, but he's horrible with kids" Callie chuckled and showed the blonde her megawatt smile.

Arizona blinked. Callie's energy and her straight forwardness were both unnerving and disarming.

"Uhm…okay…yeah…sure" Arizona stuttered "When do you want me?"


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

It only took a week before Arizona was on duty at the community center. When she arrived, Callie was so busy with a group of teenagers who had gotten into trouble with the police, that she hadn't had time to show Arizona around or give her any info about the place, so the blonde was just sort of thrown into the job. She gave a few vaccinations, treated a sprained ankle, spoke to a young father about his son's asthma and referred a young woman to a family planning clinic.

And now she was in the storage room opening boxes of medical supplies that she had managed to get Seattle Grace to donate to the center.

Callie came in.

"I'm sorry. It's been a busy morning" she said with an apologetic smile.

"That's okay. Maybe I can get the grand tour after lunch?" Arizona smiled. There was something about the place that made her feel very much at home.

"Sure" Callie said and started helping Arizona open the boxes and get the supplies in order. They chatted a bit about the center. Callie explained how she'd gotten involved and how the funding for the place worked. Part of it was paid by the city and part came in through fundraising.

Arizona thought to herself that Callie seemed happy. In fact, she always seemed happy. Arizona had been at the center for all of three hours, and no matter who she talked to they all _praised_ Callie.

"People seem to _really_ like you" she said while stacking some syringes on a shelf.

Callie lifted her head and looked at Arizona.

"What?"

"People here. They like you"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. They all speak so highly of you"

"Thanks for telling me that" the brunette said and gave the blonde a sincere smile. She paused for a second and then looked at Arizona with sexily squinted eyes.

"I AM pretty awesome, you know" she then said with the left side of her lips pulled into a crooked smile. And then she winked at Arizona before ripping the tape off another box.

The walls of the small room seemed to move closer and Arizona felt a claustrophobic feeling gather in her stomach. Callie's winking and husky voice was too much. It was too much because – without knowing why – the blonde was already a bit off balance in Callie's presence. And what felt like flirting coming from the latina, made Arizona's otherwise levelheadedness evaporate.

"I…I can't figure out if you're flirting with me…or…or if it's just…your way…how you are…I mean…you…I…" she blurted out in a stutter.

Callie looked at her in surprise.

"Oh, I AM flirting with you" she said "And I apologize. I'm a bit flirty by nature. If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll stop"

They looked at each other for what felt like a long minute. Arizona opened her mouth to say something but never got that far because they were interrupted as a guy stepped through the door and yelled "TORRES! This isn't your tent in Iraq. We don't need the extra chains on the main gate"

Callie and Arizona turned around to look at the guy, and Callie took a step towards him.

"We've had burglars twice this month, Doug. I don't want to have to worry about that anymore"

"Okay, okay" he said with a sigh, picked up a toolbox from the corner of the room, and went outside again.

Callie chuckled "That's Doug. He's an old friend. And he hates being told what to do"

Arizona stared at Callie.

"You…you were in Iraq?" she ventured.

Callie stopped what she was doing, but didn't look at Arizona.

"Yeah"

"Uhm…Wha…" the blonde started.

"I don't really like to talk about that" Callie interrupted.

Arizona closed her mouth and nodded "Of course…uhm…sorry"

Callie gave her a tight smile and went back to stacking supplies.

Arizona's mind was racing. Somehow the brunette's words 'I was a fighter pilot' from when Callie was at the hospital with Ella hadn't lodged themselves into Arizona's brain as evidence that Callie had probably gone to war. And the fact that the latina had in fact gone to war now became something that spun around in the blonde's head.

She scrunched her nose. Why was she dying to know more about Callie?

She didn't have time to answer that question in her mind because Callie asked her if she was up for lunch and then they made their way to the lounge. Arizona's willed her mind into thinking about other things, and she managed to push away thoughts of Callie's past for the rest of the day.

She succeeded in keeping the thoughts at bay for the next month as she came back to the center every Saturday or Sunday. Callie was usually there and they more often than not had lunch together either alone or with a few of the other volunteers. The blonde enjoyed it. And she felt like she and Callie were building a friendship. She still didn't know much about the latina though. And on this particular Saturday, she decided that she would try to get to know more about the brunette.

They were having lunch with two very young volunteers who were going on and on about a guy one of them really liked. Callie and Arizona both listened to the conversation and occasionally sent each other smiles of amusement.

When the two volunteers got up and left, both women burst into laughter.

"But, like, do you, like, think he, like, _likes_ me" Arizona said in a mocking voice.

"I totally don't know, but I totally think you should totally send him a message on instafacebook or something" Callie shot back through fits of laughter.

Arizona stopped laughing and simply watched the latina. Callie's laughter made the blonde's heart jump.

"How are you always this happy?" Arizona blurted out.

"What do you mean?" Callie asked while trying to get her laughing under control.

"You just always seem happy"

"Well," Callie started "I'm not always happy. But most of the time. I have a lot of things to be happy about"

"Like what?"

Callie tilted her head and studied the blonde.

"All of this for example" Callie said and held out her arms.

Arizona could tell that Callie was holding back a bit. Like she was only tentatively putting information on the table for Arizona.

Arizona decided to use the moment and push for some more information.

"Where did you grow up by the way?" she asked.

Callie immediately started fidgeting with her napkin.

"Miami" she simply answered.

"Nice!" Arizona said "Did you spend a lot of time on the beach?"

Finally Callie smiled "Well, yeah, that's sort of a given. Lots and lots of time on the beach"

Arizona felt like she was making headway.

"But you met Mark here?"

"Well, we moved to Seattle right before I started high school, and that's when I met Mark"

"From Miami to Seattle – must have been quite the change?"

"It was" the latina simply said, took a bite of food, and avoided eye contact. She was back to her short sentences.

Arizona decided that she'd gotten enough information for one day, and quickly started talking about something else than Callie's past. The brunette looked relieved.

Later in the day Arizona was in the OR with Mark. She'd had a great day at the community center, and decided to share her joy with Mark.

"It's really a great place she's got there"

"I know. She's special. And she does special things" Mark said and smiled at Arizona across the patient on the table.

"I feel like we're becoming friends. She doesn't share a lot of personal stuff though" Arizona said.

"It's a military thing"

"A military thing?"

"Yeah. It's not that she doesn't want to share. It just doesn't come that easy to her"

"You really care about her, huh?

"I love her" he stated as if it was the most natural thing in the world "She's very special to me. And the one she ends up with is going to be a very, very lucky woman"

He looked up from the patient and looked at Arizona with piercing eyes,

"Mark…" she started.

"I know. You're straight. But a guy can dream, right?"

He looked down, closed his last suture, pulled off his gloves and winked at Arizona before he left the room.

Arizona shook her head with a smile. She liked Mark. And Callie's arrival had accentuated a side of him that many people didn't see because they were too focused on how many women he slept with.

He was a good, caring, and loyal friend.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Four days later Arizona was walking out of the hospital to go home when she met Callie who was rushing across the parking lot with Ella on tow.

"Hey…" Arizona started, but was interrupted by the latina.

"Is Mark here? Please tell me Mark is here. And that he's not busy"

"He's operating. It's probably gonna take a while"

"Shit!" Callie hissed out.

Ella looked at her aunt in horror.

"You said a bad word, tia Callie!" she scolded.

"Sorry baby!" Callie said breathlessly, squatted next to the girl, and started buttoning the girl's jacket.

"What's going on?" Arizona asked.

Callie looked up at the blonde. She took a deep breath.

"I got called in" the latina then said "I really hate to ask you this, but do you think you could watch Ella for an hour? My brother will be by to pick her up. I just _need_ to leave"

"Sure"

"Really?"

"Yes, Callie. It's no big deal"

"Thank you thank you thank you" the brunette said and gave the blonde a look of immense gratitude before turning back towards Ella.

"Sweetie, can you stay with Doctor Robbins until Papa gets out of work? He will come by and pick you up soon"

Ella looked at Arizona and squinted her eyes. She looked like someone who was getting ready to take advantage of the pickle her aunt was in.

"Do you have any more lollipops, Doctor Robbins?"

"Ella!" Callie scolded.

Arizona laughed.

"Yes, sweetheart, I have a whole bunch of lollipops in my office. Let's go check out the flavors"

She reached out her hand, and Ella immediately took it. Callie breathed out a sigh of relief and once again looked at the blonde with gratitude.

'I owe you' she mouthed to Arizona, gave Ella a kiss, and then left the two in the parking lot.

Arizona and Ella walked to Arizona's office and the girl sat down on the small couch. Arizona got out a big bucket of lollipops the cheer size of which made the little girl's eyes go wide.

"So many" she breathed out when Arizona let her rummage through the bucket to find out how many different flavors there were and which ones she wanted to try.

Arizona smiled as she watched Ella push two lollipops into her mouth at the same time while clutching another four in her hand.

"Let's agree not to tell your aunt exactly how many lollipops you've had, okay?" Arizona said to the little girl.

"Mhmmm" the girl hummed.

For the next hour Arizona and Ella chatted about Ella's friends and how Ella _really_ wanted a puppy for Christmas. And then, after having asked Arizona a million questions about the hospital, Ella looked at the blonde and furrowed her brow in concentration.

"Tia Callie doesn't have a boyfriend. She has a girlfriend. Well…uh…" the girl looked contemplative "right now she doesn't have a girlfriend. But if she had a girlfriend it would be a girl" The girl nodded affirmatively at her own words.

Arizona chuckled at the girl's cuteness.

"Do you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend?" the girl then asked.

"Uhm…no. Not at the moment"

"Well, maybe you can be tia Callie's girlfriend. She says she likes girls that have pretty smiles. And you have a pretty smile"

"Thank you, Ella, but…"

"And tia Callie is _really_ pretty. Don't you think so, doctor Robbins?"

"Yes, she is very pretty, Ella, but…"

"Her hair is very soft. Sometimes we play princess hairdresser and she lets me braid it. I'm very good!"

The girl rambled on about the wonders of Callie, and Arizona gave up making a point about her own sexuality, and simply enjoyed the energy of the little girl and the small bits of information about Callie that were now falling into her lap.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Arizona opened the door and on the other side was a male version of Callie. A very handsome man.

"Hi" he said "Doctor Robbins?"

"Yes" the blonde said and reached out her hand.

"Sebastián" he said and shook Arizona's hand "Sorry my sister had to dump Ella here with you like that"

"Oh, it's no problem" Arizona said and looked back at Ella who was still on the couch, lips blue from all the berry flavored lollipops she'd eaten.

Sebastián stepped into the room.

"Uhm…she may be a bit high on sugar" Arizona whispered to the man as Ella jumped into his arms and started babbling about her day.

"Emergency caretakers are allowed to use sugar as a bribe" he laughed.

They looked at each other for a few seconds.

"Maybe I could thank you with dinner sometime?" he then asked.

Arizona looked into the man's eyes. They were exactly as dark and expressive as Callie's, and they made Arizona a little weak in her knees.

"Uhm, yeah, sure" she managed to say before she let her gaze drop to the floor.

"Great" he said "I have a lot on my plate the next few weeks, but I'll get your number from Callie, and we can set something up"

She nodded and swallowed.

"Say thank you and bye to doctor Robbins, sweetheart" Sebastián said to his daughter, and as Ella waved goodbye, he left Arizona's office.

The blonde closed the door and sat down on the couch. This felt weird. The possibility of having dinner with Callie's brother. But why did it feel weird?


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

A week later Arizona walked into the ER and was met by a nurse who handed her a clip board and led her to an ER enclosure.

"Possible cracked rib. She's asking for doctor Sloan, but he's in surgery"

The nurse pulled the curtain aside so that Arizona could see the patient. It was Callie.

Arizona quickly walked up to the exam table and put a hand on Callie's shoulder. Callie was holding a hand on the ribs of the left side of her body.

"Callie! What happened? Did you hurt yourself?"

"I fell off a ladder and landed on a chair" Callie's breathing was a bit labored. She was in pain "Do you think you could get Mark for me?"

"He's in surgery. I can take a look" Arizona said.

Callie sighed and looked up at the ceiling. After a few seconds of silence, she nodded.

Arizona grabbed the hem of the latina's shirt and as she slowly pulled it up she said "Tell me if it hurts, okay?"

She didn't touch Callie though, because as she pulled the shirt up, she saw the reason why Callie had wanted Mark, and not the blonde to check her ribs.

Across Callie's stomach was a long, wide scar. It had several shorter scars leading out from it, making it look like a tree branch, breaking the otherwise smooth, tanned skin. The doctor didn't have to take a closer look to know that the wound that caused the scar had not been treated in a regular medical facility. It looked like it had been clamped together in a hurry. To save Callie's life.

The gasp that escaped the blonde's lips was almost inaudible, but Callie heard it. She closed her eyes and breathed out. She hated this. Dreadful events of her past sneaking their way into her present, and she knew that when she opened her eyes, Arizona would have a certain look in her eyes. Horror possibly.

She looked at the blonde, and Arizona looked at her.

"I…I don't see any bruising," Arizona stuttered, clearly shaken by thoughts of what could have caused the scar "but I'll have to feel the ribs" She said it as if asking for permission to put her hands on Callie's body. The brunette simply nodded.

Arizona pressed her ribs lightly, and it made the latina flinch with pain. She watched the blonde as the doctor examined her. Arizona seemed deep in thought.

"They're not broken, but two of them are bent"

The blonde turned away to get a prescription pad.

"You'll have to take it easy for a few days. I can prescribe something for the pain if you want?"

"Uhm, no, I think I'm okay" Callie said while tugging at her shirt to cover op her stomach. She wanted to get out of there.

"Just take the prescription in case the pain gets worse, please" Arizona said and handed Callie the piece of paper without looking the latina into the eyes.

Callie reached out her hand and took the paper.

All of a sudden Mark walked in, wearing a surgery gown. He had just finished surgery and had hurried there to see his friend.

"Are you okay?" he said in a worried voice, rushing to the side of the table to put a hand on Callie's shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine" she said but didn't look up "I fell from a ladder. Bent ribs"

Mark looked at Arizona and then back at Callie.

"God, Callie, you need to be more careful! What were you doing?"

"Mark, I'm fine. Please just…leave it" She looked at him with pleading eyes that almost broke Arizona's heart. Mark obviously knew how the scar had come about. And a bit of fear and a lot of care was now pouring out of him in a very protective big brother way. It made Arizona wonder. What had happened to Callie?

"Uhm," the blonde said "I'll...uhm…I'll leave you two alone" She nodded at them and left.

Later, as she was alone in her office, she stared out the window for a long time.

And then she typed Callie's name into the internet search engine. She felt like she was trespassing, but the memory of the marks on Callie's skin made her hit 'enter'.

What Google returned was shocking. She read through headline after headline. 'US fighter pilot shot down over Fallujah', 'Still unknown if pilot survived crash', 'Where is Combat Officer Torres?' And then pictures. Of a beaten, bruised, and bloody Callie, in a torn uniform, surrounded by other soldiers. The headline said 'Torres horribly injured but finally safe'

"Oh God" Arizona whispered and placed a hand over her mouth.

She closed down the internet window without reading the articles, still feeling like she was looking at something she shouldn't be, and not wanting to know any details of how exactly the wound that came before the scar had happened.

She stared into the air for a few minutes. And then she clicked the icon of the national hospital filing system.

What showed up under Callie's file was heartbreakingly horrific. Arizona was relieved that there were no pictures, but the descriptions of Callie's injuries were enough to make her stomach turn. Everything was signed by a combat doctor in Iraq.

Arizona had to really push herself hard to snap out of the haze she was in. She would have to try to forget about what she had read and seen.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

A few days later Arizona was standing in the backyard of the co-op where Teddy lived. Teddy was throwing a barbecue, and a lot of their colleagues from the hospital as well as many other friends were there. Arizona was chatting with Mark, but much of her attention was on Callie who was standing at the other end of the yard, talking to a nurse from the oncology department.

"You seem a bit off?" Mark said all of a sudden "See anything you like over there?" he asked and turned around to see what Arizona was looking at.

"Uh…no…no, I'm just…" the blonde stuttered.

Before Mark got a chance to grill Arizona on why she was so preoccupied with Callie, Teddy yelled at him from where she was standing by the barbecue.

"Mark! Come help with the meat, please"

He put down his beer, gave Arizona an inquisitive look and then went over to Teddy.

Arizona breathed out a sigh of relief. And then she once again directed her eyes towards Callie, who was now looking back at her. The latina threw her a large smile and walked towards her.

"Hey" she said as she reached the blonde.

"Hey" Arizona smiled "How are you feeling?"

"Uhm…better. No pain" Callie simply said and took a drink of her beer.

Arizona wanted to say something, but she didn't know what. Luckily she was saved by the sound of Callie's phone ringing. The latina picked up, spoke for a few seconds and then hung up.

"Shit! I have to go" she said "Afternoon flight to L.A."

Arizona looked at the beer in Callie's hand.

"Don't worry. This will be out of my system by the time we race down the runway" Callie chuckled and put the beer down on a table.

Her comment made Arizona smile.

"How you are still flying after what happened…I don't understand. I'd be too scared"

Callie narrowed her eyes as Arizona realized that she had let her trespassing slip. Arizona immediately started sweating.

"I…I googled you" the blonde stuttered.

Callie narrowed her eyes even more. She could tell there was more than just googling behind Arizona's words.

"You read my medical file?" the latina asked and clenched her jaw.

"Callie…I…"

"You fucking read my file!"

Arizona looked down.

"Oh my God! You had no right, Arizona!"

Callie shook her head and was now no longer making eye contact. She turned to walk away. Arizona grabbed her shoulder.

"Callie…"

But Callie pulled out of the blonde's hold and left.

Mark had seen what happened and he came over to Arizona.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I'm an idiot. That's what happened" Arizona simply said.

She left four messages on Callie's phone that night, but Callie never called back. The silence was killing Arizona.

The next day Callie and Mark were sitting on the stairs in front of the community center.

"She went behind my back, Mark. She read my file. I…I…the look on her face…"

"She was curious. You guys are friends now. The scar…it…it caught her off guard. And it's not like you share things about yourself regularly"

"Can you blame me?"

"Not when it comes to what happened in Iraq, Callie. But what about everything else. Your life. Nothing too traumatic there. But sometimes it's like pulling information out of a stubborn two-year-old. Arizona is…she means well. She's a good person"

"And snoopy"

They both chuckled. And then they were silent for a few minutes while looking out over the city.

"You like her?" Mark then asked.

Callie pursed her lips and took a deep breath.

"Yeah. I like her"

"What's stopping you from sweeping her off her feet then?"

"She's straight"

"That hasn't stopped you with other women"

"Well, I didn't _like_ those other women, Mark. And in a few minutes she'll probably be married to a nice guy and have three kids. I can't like her like that. I can't pine over her. It will break me. Besides, my brother wants to take her out. On a date"

Mark looked at her with knowing eyes, put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. They stayed like that for a long time.

Callie was still sitting on the stairs when Arizona walked up to the place an hour later. Mark had left for work, and the latina had been deep in thought ever since. When she heard footsteps, she looked up and directly into Arizona's beautiful blue eyes.

"Hey" Arizona breathed out.

"Hey"

A few seconds passed. The two of them simply looking at each other, and Arizona trying to find the right words.

"Callie…"

"It's okay, Arizona"

"No, it's not okay" Arizona said and sat down next to Callie "I shouldn't have looked. I was curious. And it was very wrong of me to snoop. I'm sorry"

Callie swallowed and then she nodded.

"Apology accepted" she then said.

Arizona waited for the brunette to look up and meet her eyes before she continued.

"Mark is my friend. And you are Mark's friend. And I think I've been a bit jealous of you guys' friendship. Not that I wanted to ruin it or anything" She chuckled "I just wanted to be a part of it and…and I feel like I don't know you that well…even though we spend a lot of time together…it's…it's…"

"I'm…I'm not trying to hold back. I like spending time with you. I'll try to be more open"

"And I'll try to be less nosy"

They smiled at each other. And then they were both silent for a while.

"We moved to Seattle because my mom got a job here. She worked as a technical engineer. At school I didn't speak to anyone for several weeks. That's until Mark beat up a senior that had told me to go back to Cuba. We've been best friends ever since"

Arizona smiled at the thought of Mark gallantly defending Callie's honor in high school. And she smiled because Callie had decided to share something from her past.

"Thank you" she said "For sharing"

Callie nodded.

"Now, are you here to work?" she then asked the blonde with a cheeky smile.

Arizona laughed.

"Sure"


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

"Uhm...your brother asked me out"

Callie stopped what she was doing and looked at the blonde. They had started going over the plans for an open house at the center.

"Yeah...uh...he mentioned that" Callie looked like she was trying to figure out what to say "Well, he's a nice guy. And I'm not just saying that because he's my brother"

"Yeah, he seems nice" Arizona said and nodded slowly.

"So, are you gonna go out with him?" the latina asked.

"Uhm...yeah"

"Great" the latina simply said and looked back down at the paper work "I never had the pleasure of a having a full date with you myself, but I told him that you're a nice person" And then she returned to what they had been talking about before as if nothing had happened "Do you think we'll be able to fit 70 chairs in here?"

Arizona clenched her jaw.

"Yeah, there's plenty of space"

And that was it. Arizona was going to go out for dinner with Callie's brother.

He picked her up the following Friday, and they went to a nice French restaurant.

He was charming. And funny. And handsome. And at the end of the night he kissed her.

As he pulled out of the kiss he looked at her with inquisitive eyes.

"Listen," he said "let me make this easy on you"

Arizona didn't know what he meant.

"I love my sister. And I find her miraculously wonderful. But you've talked about her all night. And I kind of felt like you weren't too much into me kissing you just now, so I think that maybe you went out with the wrong Torres?"

"Wha…no, no no, I…I just…"

"Just…think about it, okay? She really is magnificent"

And with those words he smiled at her, turned around, and left Arizona at the doorstep of her apartment building.

What had just happened? And why did everything feel so weird?

The questions raced through her head, and they continued to do so for days.

Arizona was hoping that Callie's brother hadn't gone home and told Callie about their date. She was hoping that he hadn't dispensed his analysis of their evening to the brunette. And she was hoping that people would just stop talking about how wonderful Callie would be for her.

Arizona. Was. Straight.

And right now she was standing by the bar of a very gay night club.

It had been two weeks since she'd last been at the community center. She hadn't seen Callie after the date she'd had with the brunette's brother. She needed a break without knowing exactly what she needed a break from. And when Teddy had suggested a night of dancing with a few friends, Arizona had seen it as a welcomed opportunity to drink. And to not think about Callie.

She was three drinks into the evening and alone at the bar because Teddy was dancing with her friends. Arizona enjoyed to just stand there and watch people. She was starting to feel the warmth of the alcohol spread into her limbs and she relaxed.

As she got started on her fourth drink, her eyes locked onto someone familiar standing at the other end of the club.

It was Callie. Callie in a short black dress and heels. Callie with tanned legs that looked so smooth and silk like.

Arizona _stared_ at her. And because of the alcohol, she didn't have the self-restraint to immediately look away when the latina turned around and met her eyes. It took the blonde a few seconds before she finally turned back towards the bar and closed her eyes. Shit!

She stood still for a while, concentrating on not turning back around to look at Callie again. She didn't have to, because the brunette had crossed the floor and was now standing behind her.

"For a straight woman this sure is a very gay place to visit"

Arizona took a deep breath, turned around, and found herself face to face with Callie.

The latina had a very low cleavage, and her dark hair was pulled up on one side and hung lose on the other. She looked gorgeous, and it stirred something in Arizona. Something that made the blonde lose her cool and babble away.

"Oh, hi…uh…yeah…well…Teddy… Two of her gay friends…they invited me…and…uh…I just sorta showed up…uh…and…well now I'm here…and…"

Callie laughed.

"You babble, Doctor Robbins"

"Yeah, sorry" Arizona breathed out. Why was she babbling?

"No, it's really cute" Callie said.

Arizona let go of the breath she hadn't realized she was holding in. She simply stared at the latina. And the latina did nothing to start a conversation. She simply stared back.

"Do you…do you come here often?" Arizona finally stuttered.

"Often enough" Callie said and asked the bartender for drinks and shots for the two of them.

When the shots arrived, Callie downed two of them without breaking eye contact with the blonde.

Thoughts of the scar that was zigzagging it's way between the beauty marks on the latina's belly raced through Arizona's mind. She swallowed as she thought about how sensitive the nerve endings at the edges of the scar would be to any touch.

Arizona also did a shot. And she blurted out a question that had been on her mind for a while.

"Do you think you'll want to tell me about it one day?" she said and motioned towards Callie's abdominal area "I mean, since I'm your friend now and all" The question was challenging. Like she wanted to push Callie – in a sort of self defence. She was squirming under the intensity of Callie's eyes.

"You know already"

"No. I know the medical details. But I don't know exactly what happened"

"Maybe" Callie then said and did another shot.

"You didn't sleep with her?"

"With whom?"

"Doctor Christensen. Maya"

"You ask the weirdest questions, doctor Robbins" Callie said "Why don't we talk about you and me instead?"

"Just answer my question, please" the blonde insisted. Arizona hadn't registered Callie's last sentence yet.

"No, I didn't sleep with her. Because I would have spent the whole time thinking about you"

Callie challengingly raised her eyebrows.

Arizona opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.

The look in Callie's eyes. The smell of Callie's perfume. The alcohol that was rushing through Arizona's veins. It all became too much for the blonde. She clenched her jaw and rushed past the latina, pushed through the crowd on the dance floor and exited the club.

The cool night air felt raw when she pulled it into her lungs and started walking down the street.

She didn't get far before someone grabbed her.

It was Callie. And the latina's hand felt strong and warm on her shoulder.

"Why are you running, Arizona?"

"I'm not running…I just…you…"

"Do I make you nervous?" Callie said and took a step closer to the blonde.

"You said…you said you wouldn't flirt" Arizona whispered.

"I said that because I thought you really minded it" Callie whispered back "You very well know that your date with my brother didn't end in ecstasy because your mind was elsewhere. And what you don't know is that you have already shown enough interest for me to know that I will end up getting my way with you"

"Wha…"

Arizona leaned back against the wall of the building in surprise.

Callie simply smiled at the blonde, turned around, and started walking away.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Callie turned back around, closed the distance between them, and placed a hand on the wall on either side of Arizona's head, standing so close to the blonde that Arizona could feel Callie's breath on her face and the heat radiating between them. Callie's eyes were impossibly dark.

Arizona swallowed.

"In the beginning I thought you were just awkward around new people. Or that maybe you despised me for being Mark's friend. I didn't know. But now I know. And if you don't want me to flirt, if you don't want me to chase you, you have to tell me right now. I'll stop. But you have to tell me to" Callie husked.

Arizona was dumbstruck. And lost in Callie's eyes, her own eyes darting back and forth between the dark brown windows of the latina's soul and Callie's luscious lips.

"I didn't think so" Callie then said and placed her right hand on Arizona's cheek for a brief moment. Then she pulled back, looked the blonde into the eyes for an intense second, turned around and left.

It took Arizona a few minutes to regain her bearings. She surfaced, breathing out a loud "Shit!" and bending over, resting her hands on her thighs.

Never, ever, had she experienced something as sexy as what had just happened.

The lingering smell of Callie's perfume is what made it very clear to her exactly why her date with Callie's brother hadn't sparked anything in her.

He had eyes like Callie. But he wasn't Callie.

She swallowed, and with shaky hands she got her phone out of her bag and sent Teddy a message. She was going to go home. And in the morning she would need to talk to Teddy. About all of this.

8 hours later a very hung over Teddy was sitting at the breakfast bar in Arizona's apartment.

She stared at the blonde who had just told her everything that had happened the night before. All in a complete disarray of a ramble. Arizona's unwillingness to realize what the next logic step in all this would be, made Teddy's head hurt even more than it already did. She had known for quite a while that Arizona's infatuation with Callie was more than just friendly.

"So let me see… She is nice, sweet, considerate, kind of badass, looks incredible, has a killer body, is a goddamn pilot, does charity work, helps her family out, and SHE WANTS YOU?

"But, I'm not gay, Teddy!"

"You keep using that as an excuse. It doesn't matter if you're gay or not. Do you like her?"

"Yes"

"Then fucking go on a date with her!"


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

For a week Arizona did nothing but work. She even stayed at the hospital during her time off simply to not think too much.

She had turned off her phone. She avoided Teddy. She avoided Mark. And she had no intention of going to the community center. Because she had a feeling that going there would make something happen. Something she wasn't quite in control of.

So she worked. Until Friday night when she finally decided that spending a night in her own bed instead on in an on-call room would probably be a good idea.

Her apartment was dark and a bit cold. She sat down on the couch and stared into the air for a while. She couldn't completely grasp how things had developed the way they had. And worst of all; she didn't know what to do about it.

Then there was a knock on the door and when she opened it and saw Callie standing outside, it was almost like everything became too much to bear.

"Mark called. He said you finally left the hospital" the latina said.

Arizona closed her eyes. Callie looked too goddamn beautiful.

"Callie…"

"Just answer me; why did you only go on one date with my brother?"

"Callie…"

"Please, Arizona. Be honest. Just say it!"

"Because it's you. It's you I want to go on a date with" Arizona breathed out. When the words escaped her lips, she looked like she had surprised herself.

"Good. Then that's where we start" Callie simply said, and then she turned around and left.

For the following two days Arizona didn't hear from Callie. And she didn't have the guts to call her herself. So she waited. And nervously thought about what was next.

Saying the words – even though her own feelings had surprised her – to Callie had lifted some weight off her shoulders, but she had no idea what was going to happen now. And she didn't know what to do.

As she walked out of the hospital after a 16 hour shift, she was exhausted. And the exhaustion mixed with her confusion threatened to make her cry as the cold wind of Seattle hit her face.

And then she saw Callie. The latina was waiting in the parking lot, leaning up against her car, arms crossed in front of her, her beautiful wavy hair moving slowly in the wind.

Arizona stopped right in front of her, unsure what to say or do.

"Have you had time to think?"

Arizona blinked.

So Callie had made her wait on purpose? Made her wait, and think, and reach the conclusion that she had meant what she said.

Arizona nodded without breaking eye contact. She wanted – needed – to look at Callie.

"And you're not running anywhere?"

Arizona opened her mouth. It took a while before the words came out. She wanted them to be the right words.

"Not right now. I'm not running right now"

"Good" Callie breathed out "Now, I'm having an extremely busy week, but maybe we could…have dinner together this weekend?"

"I'd like that, Callie" Arizona said.

They looked at each other for a minute before Callie nodded at Arizona, got in her car, and drove away.

Two hours later Arizona got a text message from Mark.

 **Saturday at 7:30. The Italian place on Cherry Street. Wear something sexy! – M**

Arizona's heart started racing and she chuckled at his 'repeat' message.

 **I'll be there! Thanks Mark :-* – A**

They would be going on a date. With a clean slate.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

When Arizona walked into the restaurant Saturday night, she felt confident. It felt like a new chapter. And she had decided to push down the thoughts of her sexuality and be open. It wasn't too hard. She was, without a doubt, very much falling for Callie.

Her initial resistance was based solely on the heterosexual image she had of herself. She hadn't allowed herself to contemplate the possibility. It was something she only did – as Mark had noticed – when she was drunk or generally letting lose. Which probably should have given her a premonition a long time ago.

It seemed like everybody else had known though. Known that there would be attraction between Arizona and Callie. And known that Arizona would eventually come to the conclusion that Callie was as special as everybody said she was.

Mark knew. Teddy knew. Maybe even Callie knew.

It dazzled Arizona. But right now she was allowing herself to be open to the idea of dating a woman. And not just any woman. Callie. The thought made her giddy.

Callie was sitting by a table in the back of the restaurant. She was looking at her phone so she didn't see Arizona approaching. Arizona enjoyed the moment. She enjoyed being able to really look at Callie.

The latina was simply gorgeous.

Then Callie looked up and met Arizona's eyes, and they both smiled.

"Hey" the brunette breathed out.

"Hey" Arizona said. It almost came out as a whisper. Her confidence was now slightly affected by the unfamiliarity of the situation. Of being on a date with a woman.

Callie got up and gave her a hug. The latina smelled like summer and it grounded the blonde.

"I ordered some wine" Callie said and pointed to Arizona's glass as they sat down.

Arizona grabbed the glass of red wine and downed half of it in one go.

It made Callie laugh. And the wonderful sound of the latina's laughter made Arizona break out her dimples and relax.

The night flew by. Arizona was lost in everything Callie. They talked about the hospital, about Homeless Hearts, about Seattle.

And Arizona marveled at the easy confidence in Callie's way of…being.

Arizona lived close, so Callie walked her home. When standing in front of the main door to Arizona's building, it felt like they were teenagers.

A nervousness had started bubbling in Arizona's stomach, but as soon as Callie slowly moved towards her to let their lips touch, Arizona moved into the kiss as well. It felt right.

And so they parted, without the promise of a second date. It was all Arizona thought about though.

After thinking about Callie non-stop all night and half the next day, she decided to send the brunette a message.

 **Did I tell you that I'm a great cook? Dinner at my place on Wednesday? - A**

Arizona held her breath as she sent the message. She lifted her fingers to her mouth and touched her lips, the memory of Callie kissing her floating through her brain. It had been so soft.

Only 30 seconds passed before an answer arrived.

 **I was just about to write you :-) You've got yourself a deal! - C**

It made the bubbles in Arizona's stomach reappear. She had wondered if Callie had enjoyed the date. If the latina wanted to see her again. And she had known that she would have to be the one to take the initiative to get a second date because Callie had already done enough.

It made her happy to think that Callie wasn't running either.

When the second date rolled around, Arizona suddenly doubted their chemistry though.

Wednesday night Callie came for dinner and it was cozy. The food was good, the wine was good, and the conversation was as easy as it had been during the previous date. Something was off though.

Arizona kept trying to get some kind of personal information out of Callie; stories about her childhood, details about her job etc. But Callie expertly averted the questions.

The latina's easy confidence was restricted to talking about things that didn't include details about herself. And she was a pro at getting around answering questions.

It was slowly starting to make Arizona insecure, wondering if Callie was really interested in her.

At around midnight Callie got up to leave. Arizona walked her to the door, and that's when things got awkward.

As they were standing across from each other in the door opening Callie seemed nervous and confident at the same time. Without saying anything, the leaned in, slowly.

Arizona pulled back. It immediately made Callie look slightly defeated.

"Callie… I want to kiss you so bad… In fact, I've been thinking about it ever since you kissed me Saturday night" Arizona said.

"But?"

Arizona let go of a sigh.

"You've been here all night. The other day we were at the restaurant for four hours, Callie. And I still know nothing about you"

"Oh…"

The latina looked surprised and at the same time like she now realized that her habit of keeping information about herself closed up inside of her was now threatening to push Arizona away.

"I…I don't need to know _everything_. But I need to know something. Please… I'm nervous enough about all this as it is. I can't…I can't let myself fall into this if you…if you don't open up a little" Arizona said. Her voice was soft.

She wasn't running. She had even contemplated what kind of activities a third date might entail and even thought the thought scared her, she wasn't running. It was as if the door to a life where she could be with a woman was now wide open, and she was no longer questioning it. Now she was just slightly nervous about certain things. And she was desperate for Callie to open up about herself.

Callie clenched her jaw. She knew Arizona was right.

She didn't drop her gaze but simply looked into Arizona's blue eyes.

And then Arizona leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"I had a good time, Callie, and…and I like you…I…I _really_ like you. I don't know…I don't know what all of this is, but I know that I like you. And I want you to like me too"

"I do like you…" Callie tried.

"Yes, but I want you to like me enough to…to tell me what your favorite color is"

The blonde pulled a loose dark strand of hair behind Callie's ear. They looked at each other for a while. Callie looked like her mind was going at a hundred miles per hour. She nodded slowly and then turned around and walked down the hall.


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

The next day dragged by. Arizona didn't have a single surgery, so she spent most of her time doing paperwork. And thinking about Callie.

She got home late, sat down on the couch and for two hours she only moved to get herself a beer out of the fridge.

At 11 o'clock at night there was a knock on her door. It was Callie.

Arizona stepped aside to let Callie into her apartment. Callie walked through the door and stopped in the middle of the living room. She turned around to face Arizona and simply looked at the blonde for a few moments. She was gathering courage.

"It was a recognizance mission…" she started.

"Callie…I'm…I'm not asking you to tell me about _that_ …"

"But I have to. It's blocking everything else" Callie blurted out. She looked at Arizona with pleading eyes. Callie had been hesitant. Hesitant about letting the blonde into this very dark part of her history. Hesitant about showing what was both a point of so much strength and weakness at the same time. And the walls built by the memory of a single event from her past kept her from sharing anything else.

But now. Now everything needed to come out.

Arizona didn't say anything. The two little nods she gave were barely visible, but Callie saw them. It was the blonde's way of telling her to continue.

Callie took a deep breath. And then she opened the little safety box that she hid deep inside her chest.

"It was winter, and so, so quiet. I could hear my own pulse in my ear and that made me slightly worried. It was like a bad omen. And then…then I was spotted… I could hear the missile before it hit, and I must have gotten ready to pull the ejection handle, because as the missile tore off the tail, I pulled hard. I must have hit the top of the canopy when I was ejected. And it knocked me out"

Callie paused. She looked like she was trying to remember.

"The next thing I remember is waking up in a tree. I was lucky enough that the parachute got stuck in a tree top so I didn't hit the ground. I don't know how long I was out for, but it must have been a few hours, because I flew out in the afternoon and when I woke up it was dark… It was so dark… Pitch black. And silent"

Arizona couldn't imagine. She couldn't imagine the darkness. Or the silence. Or the fear.

"I cut myself down. I had no idea where I was, but I had to walk…move… For two days I did nothing but walk. The GPS in my equipment belt was broken, and I had no idea how far I was from the base, from Fallujah, or from anywhere. All that was on my mind was evading capture. Turns out the US army weren't the only ones looking for me"

Arizona swallowed. She had thought that Callie had gotten the scars from the crash. But now she knew that what Callie was about to tell her was going to be much worse than that.

 **(TRIGGER WARNING FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS CHAPTER: VIOLENCE ETC. RELATED TO BEING POW)**

"They caught me… I was so tired. Weak. I'd had nothing to eat or drink, and for a few minutes…right when they captured me and dragged me through the wilderness…I felt relieved"

Callie looked at Arizona. Her eyes were apologetic. As if she judged herself for not causing more resistance with her capturers.

"And then everything was…the worst…after that"

"They had a small camp. Maybe 20 men. And it felt like they were operating on their own. I wasn't the first American they'd captured. There was another soldier there already. Ben Williams. He had been with them for a few days, but he was still doing okay. When they threw me into the little tent where they kept him, all he said was 'Prepare for the worst. But don't let them break you'. He knew what they were going to do…"

Callie breathed out heavily and stayed silent for a few seconds. Then she took a deep breath.

"A few of them…many of them…took turns raping me that night. In front of Ben. They forced him to watch…"

"Callie…" Arizona whispered.

The latina blinked rapidly before she continued.

"In…in the military they prep…they _try_ to prepare you for things like that. They teach you to be compliant, to do what is asked of you so that you have a chance to make it out alive. What they don't teach you is how to deal with all the loathing and hate that comes with being compliant…. A few days passed and one morning Ben refused to do what they told him to. They wanted him to… _do_ things to me…but he kept refusing. I begged him…I begged him to comply… They cut off his hand. Just like that. That's when I realized that they didn't need us for anything. That they weren't going to try to trade us for anything or use us for blackmailing. They weren't a part of everything else that was going on out there at that time. And that fact made us – our lives – be something that didn't matter. They were going to keep us until they didn't want us anymore. And then they were going to get rid of us… It only took a few days. They tied us to a pole. I thought they were going to show some mercy. That maybe they would just shoot us and get it over with. But then their main guy pulled out a machete. They opened our shirts… Ben was chanting 'Have mercy have mercy have mercy'. And then they cut him open… Everything was so quiet. I never thought it would be quiet"

Callie had tears in her eyes. They were threatening to spill.

"And then… Then they cut me… It…it didn't really hurt. The shock was probably covering up the pain. But the blood... God, there was so much blood. I thought 'Is this how it ends? With being sliced to pieces? Bleeding to death?'"

Callie clenched her jaw and looked down at her hands.

"And then…then I thought 'I don't want to die here. Not in front of them. Not like this'. I don't know how I got lose, but I did. I kicked the machete guy and the guy next to him so they fell to the ground. And then I started running. I must have surprised them because it took them a while to start following me, and by some magical luck, I shook them without running too far. Then I walked for about half an hour, holding myself together"

Callie looked down at her herself as if remembering the feeling of holding her gut together and the warmth of fresh blood gushing through the cuts.

"When I finally got dizzy and sat down, blood was everywhere. And I knew it would be a matter of time before there'd be no more blood left. And a matter of time before animals would find me. A matter of time before it would all be over. But I was just so happy that I was alone. That the end was going to come around peacefully. I…I closed my eyes and it felt like I was drifting away. But then I heard a sound. At first it sounded like it was coming from far away, but then I realized that less than 100 feet away someone was having a conversation in English. I must have managed to say something. To call out. Because they came for me, lifted me up and started carrying me to their camp. I passed out on the way there, so I don't remember what happened next. I remember waking up though. 3 days later. Surrounded by British soldiers. Safe"

The thought of Callie fighting off her capturers and making it out of their camp alive even after having her midsection cut open in the most horrific way, made Arizona dizzy with admiration. And even though Callie was standing right in front of her, the very live proof that her escape had ended in survival, Arizona still felt relieved as Callie's last word reassuringly left the brunette's lips.

"Callie…I…I…"

"You don't have to say anything, Arizona. I survived. And now you know what happened"


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

Callie had left right after telling Arizona about the events in Iraq. They hadn't spoken.

Arizona couldn't believe that Callie had shared her story. Something so very painful and personal.

Arizona knew what it meant. That the latina wanted to give them a real shot even though everything leading up to them finally going on a date had been complicated. That Callie believed that they could go somewhere. That _they_ could happen. It was a daunting thought.

Arizona was showering at the hospital and anxious to finish up and get out of there. She wanted to go to Callie's place. She wanted to talk to Callie.

As she arrived at Callie's place, she realized, that she didn't even know if Callie was home. Turned out she wasn't.

Arizona stood in front of the apartment building for a few minutes, contemplating whether she should just go home. But she couldn't.

She _needed_ to see Callie.

She waited on Callie's doorstep for two hours. Then she heard a car door being shut and looked out into the darkness to see where to noise was coming from. The first things she saw was Callie. The latina walked down the pathway towards the blonde. She was dressed in her pilot uniform, hat under arm, and looked sharp. Sexy.

Arizona got up immediately and that's when Callie noticed that the blonde was there.

The latina stopped and they just looked at each other for a while.

"Arizona…" Callie finally said.

The words Arizona wanted to say suddenly came spilling over the blonde's lip.

"Callie… Thank you for…for sharing. I wanted to tell you that last night but…but…I was a bit overwhelmed. _Am_ overwhelmed"

Callie stood straight, exactly the way she had done at the hospital when Ella had hurt her shoulder. She looked so strong. So confident.

She took a few steps forward until she was standing directly in front on Arizona.

She took a deep breath.

"I never talk about it because…because I can barely get the words out. They hurt too much. Some nights I hear Ben's voice over and over again… I have the scar, and that's enough for me to handle. I mean…seeing it every day...it…it… I am a strong person, Arizona. I meet the world head on. And I don't want people…you…to see me as a purple heart and nothing else"

"Callie…Most days I feel so brave. I'm great at my job. I save lives. I give reassuring pep talks to parents of toddlers with heart diseases. I…I…love what I do. But you, Callie…you really are brave"

"The scar…it's horrific" Callie whispered and looked down.

"It's not. The way it came about is horrific. The scar itself is…beautiful…"

Callie released a small chuckle.

"…and…and I am going to want to touch it"

Callie looked up, her eyes wide with surprise at Arizona's words. They were carrying the expectance of immense closeness. And intimacy.

Arizona gave the latina a small smile.

"I'm scared. Scared of…this…" She motioned between the two of them and took a deep breath before getting to her main point "Scared because I'm falling for you. Hard" She bit her lip.

Callie swallowed. She didn't want to ruin the moment by saying something, so she simply looked at Arizona with her warm eyes.

Arizona slowly turned around and started walking down the path towards her car. And that's when Callie finally spoke up.

"Arizona…"

Arizona turned around and looked at the Latina. Callie's eyes were alive with the reflection of the porch light. She looked at the blonde without blinking.

"…my favorite color is red"


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15**

Arizona didn't get much sleep that night. She kept tossing and turning in her bed, thinking about Callie.

At 4am she picked up her phone and sent the latina a message. She wanted to keep the bridge of communication open.

 **I like red too - A**

Then she got up, showered and went for a two hour walk before going into work.

After a 10 hour shift, she was slumped on a couch in the staff lounge. Opposite of her, on another couch, was Mark.

They were both dead tired after a 5 hour surgery and none of them had spoken. They simply looked at each other.

"She told me" Arizona finally said, her voice cracking with tiredness and a sense of being overwhelmed "Everything. She told me everything"

Mark didn't look fazed.

"Good" he said "And?"

Arizona swallowed.

"And I'm crazy about her"

"Good"

"That's all you have to say?"

"Well, it took you long enough to figure it out, but yeah, 'good' sort of covers it. Now go and be great together"

"I'm scared" She didn't mean for the words to come out as a whisper, but they did.

He got up, walked over and sat down next to her. He put an arm around her and pulled her close.

"Don't be. It'll be magnificent. You're both…magnificent"

She looked up at him from under his arm and gave him a small smile.

"You're not too bad yourself, Mark"

He kissed her forehead. And they were silent for a while.

"How did you know?" Arizona then asked.

"Know what?"

"That I…that her and I…"

"I don't know. I just… When she came home from Iraq she was so broken. She'd always had this…spark…it's what initially drew me to her. People…are drawn to her. And she doesn't even know how wonderful she is. But the spark was gone. For a long time. It was almost like it cost her too much effort to even breathe. She never went to the purple heart ceremony, but it was the medal that turned everything around. When it arrived in the mail it was as if she decided to not let that little piece of metal weigh her down. She decided to live again. And then she slowly started regaining her strength. She was cleared for flying and got the job with Delta. She started leaving the house more. She even started sending me dirty e-mails again"

They both chuckled.

"The spark was back"

Mark looked at Arizona with a smile.

"And when you joined the team two years ago I noticed that same spark. In you. Maybe it sounds weird, but I've always thought you guys would make a good match. And I think that instead of spending your free time in this lounge, with me, you should go see her. And see where this takes you"

He nudged her side with his elbow. She took a deep breath and let go of it slowly as if to prepare herself.

"Yeah" she said and nodded, and then she got up. She was going to go see Callie.

Half an hour later she was in front of Callie's door. Once again she had arrived at a time where Callie wasn't home, and she was now cursing herself that she had let the whole day go by without calling the Latina. Without arranging their next meeting. Their new starting point.

She wondered whether it would be a good idea to call Callie, but if Callie was working, she didn't want to disturb.

And that's when she heard a voice coming from behind her.

"Are you going to make it a habit to stand around and wait for me at my door?"

Arizona turned around. She couldn't help smiling. And when she saw the Latina, she nearly forgot to breathe.

Callie was dressed in a dark red dress, black heels, her hair looked impossibly black and shiny, and her smoky eye make-up made her look incredibly sexy.

"Wow…" Arizona breathed out.

Callie chuckled.

"…you look…really great" the blonde managed to get out.

"Thanks" Callie said "There was a birthday reception at work. I'm sorry I haven't called, but it's been a busy day. Work was…"

She didn't get further before Arizona had taken a step forward and connected their lips.

It was a soft kiss and it didn't last long, but still it sent bolts of lightning through Arizona's body.

She pulled back slowly and then leaned her forehead against Callie's.

She breathed in Callie's scent and it made her feel at ease even though her heart was racing at a hundred miles per hour. Being this close to Callie was making her feel both nervous and extremely good at the same time.

"I'm only here to get some clothes. I fly out in an hour..." Callie whispered.

"Okay" Arizona said, slightly disappointed that she wouldn't get to spend more time with the latina.

Callie pulled her head back and then blurted out "I cook too"

It made Arizona smile.

"Oh yeah?" she said.

"Yeah...uhm...what I mean is, do you want to come for dinner? Saturday?"

"I'd love to"

Callie was now also all smiles.

"Great"


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16**

Saturday night at 7 o'clock Arizona knocked on Callie's door. She was happy.

When Callie opend the door though, the look on the latina's face made Arizona's smile fade.

"I'm so sorry" Callie said as she stepped to the side and let the blonde walk in.

"Why..." Arizona started, but she didn't finish because as she stepped into the latina's apartment she saw Ella sitting on Callie's couch.

"She's has a fever and Sebastián had a thing with work. He couldn't get a sitter and I just...I should have called, but I..."

"It's okay, Callie. Don't worry" Arizona said. She put a hand on Callie's shoulder, reassuring the brunette that everything was fine.

"I haven't had time to cook" Callie then said apologetically.

"Callie, it's fine, really. But, can I stay? I mean, if you think it's better that I go..."

"No no no, stay, please. We'll...we'll order pizza"

Hearing the word 'pizza' made Ella stop watching cartoons and turn around towards the two women. She hadn't even noticed Arizona arriving.

"Doctor Robbins!" she said excitedly.

"Hey sweetheart" Arizona said "How are you feeling?"

"Not so good" the girl said.

Arizona put a hand on Ella's forehead, checked her throat, and listened to her lungs.

Callie watched in awe. Arizona was so gentle yet firm and professional. It was kind of hot.

"I think you just need a good night's sleep and maybe some pancakes in the morning and you'll be fine" Arizona said and winked at Ella who in return gave as radiant a smile as the ones her aunt was capable of.

"Pancakes? Reeeally?" Callie said.

"Doctor's orders" Arizona simply said with a sly smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"Yes, tia Callie, doctor's orders" the little girl repeated.

Callie chuckled. "You two are trouble"

Ella returned to her cartoons and as Callie called the pizza place, Arizona walked around the living room. This was her first time inside Callie's apartment and it was so different from what she had imagined. She'd thought that Callie would have a very modern home with lots of chrome and leather furniture, but in fact her place was quite the oposite, it had more of a warmth to it. One of the living room walls was full of framed photographs. Arizona recognized Ella and Sebastián in many of them, and Mark was there too. There was even the group photo they took on the day of the charity baseball match. Arizona studied it.

"Oh God" she said out loud when she saw herself in the photo.

Callie, having ordered the pizza, walked up behind her.

"Oh God what?"

Arizona jumped at Callie's sudden presence.

"This picture" she said "I...I'm staring at you"

She pointed at herself in the picture. She was standing next to a smiling Mark, and she was the only one in the picture who wasn't looking into the camera. Her head was turned to the side, and she was - quite obviously - looking at Callie.

"Oh...I hadn't even noticed that" Callie said with a wink.

"You're very kind" Arizona said, hiding her blushing face in her hands.

"I thought you were just sizing me out. You know, before the cage fight or whatever we would have to do to figure out who would win Mark's friendship"

Arizona laughed.

The pizza arrived and they all sat down at the table. As they started eating, Ella watched them. She looked at Callie and then at Arizona and then at Callie again.

"Doctor Robbins has a pretty smile, don't you think so, tia Callie?" the little girl then said in an overtly suggestive way "She has...dimmels"

"They're called dimples, mi amor, and yes, she does have a pretty smile"

Callie dared a glance at Arizona who was looking at the latina with eyes that were dark blue in the dim light.

"Doctor Robbins doesn't have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. She is alone like you"

"I'm sitting right here" Arizona whispered in a mock insulted tone which made it really hard for Callie to keep a straight face. Ella was too busy being a matchmaker to notice Arizona's comment.

"Really? She's alone like me? I don't believe it!" Callie said.

"It's true, tia Callie, and she said she thinks you are pretty"

Callie once again looked at Arizona.

"She did, huh?" The latina husked while keeping eye contact with the blonde. Arizona was too lost in Callie to say anything.

"Yes" Ella said while nodding vigerously "Maybe you could be girlfriends together"

Callie looked at the little girl.

"You know what, I think I'll talk to doctor Robbins about that after you've gone to bed"

"But..."

"No buts. You're only five but already you meddle as much as a 70 year old latin woman"

Ella crossed her arms and pouted.

"I AM a latin woman" she said which made both Arizona and Callie laugh.

Callie put Ella to bed, read her a story and returned to the living room where Arizona was cleaning up.

"Stop, please, I'll take care of that tomorrow" Callie said "I promised you a nice homecooked meal and you got mediocre pizza and babysitting duty. I think the least I can do is clean up after us"

They stood in front of each other. 5 feet apart.

Arizona didn't really know what to do.

"What happens now?" she finally said.

"Now we sit down and have a glass of wine. And then we kiss"

Callie's voice was low. Arizona felt suddenly nervous and excited at the same time.

They sat down and Callie poured them each a glass of wine.

"Does Ella have a mom?"

"She did. Her name was Mira. She died in a car accident not long after I returned from Iraq. Sebastián handled everything so well, but as Ella got older it got harder for him to fit his schedule with her activities. And these kids don't just grow up on autopilot. So he was considering quitting his job, but he loves teaching, so I offered to move here and help out. He doesn't have as many night classes as he used to, but when he does, Ella stays with me"

"And she braids your hair. And she said that she is going to make you try to convince her dad to get her a puppy for Christmas" Arizona said with a smile.

Callie laughed.

"How much did she tell you exactly?"

"That's about it, but I'm sure I can get more information out of her. After all I have lollipops"

They both laughed. And then they were silent for a while, looking at each other.

Then Callie took the wine glass from Arizona's hand, placed in on the table, and leaned forward, pressing her lips against Arizona's.

It was what Arizona had been waiting for all night. With a mixture of exitement and anxiety. And now she opened her mouth slowly, letting Callie's tongue meet her own for the first time and start a slow dance that tasted like red wine and felt amazing. She let a hand slip through Callie's hair, placing it on the back of Callie's neck.

Her heart was beating rapidly and she could hardly contain the bubbling feeling that filled her inside. Kissing Callie like this felt amazing.

After a few minutes Callie pulled back a little.

"Wow" she breathed out.

"I know" Arizona said in a voice full of surrender "I...I want more" And then she pulled a smiling Calling in for another round.


	17. Chapter 17

**CHAPTER 17**

"You made out for two hours?" Teddy asked in disbelief.

"Schhhh, keep it down, will you" Arizona looked around the cafeteria to see if anyone was listening.

"Only in high school did I ever kiss anyone for that long" Teddy said.

"I know"

"Did anything else happen?"

"No"

"Nothing?"

"Nothing"

Teddy gave the blonde a mischiveous smile.

"Did you want anything else to happen?"

"Her niece was in the next room, Teddy"

"That's not what I'm asking"

"Teddy...I...I..."

"Arizona, just tell me. We always talk about these things. Just two weeks ago I told you about that guy who insisted on blasting opera on the stereo. In the bedroom. During sex"

Arizona chuckled. She took a deep breath.

"Callie...she is so...confident and...sexy. The thought of going further it...scares me but..."

"But what?"

"It also turns me on. Immensly" Arizona breathed out "Yesterday I wanted her to touch me. You know. Maybe not sex. But...second base. I was hoping she would do it. But she didn't. And on my way home I thought that maybe, just maybe she wants me to call the shots since I'm...new. And I'm not sure I'll know how to call the shots in...that department. All I know is that I want it to happen...at some point. Which is good, I guess"

"Sounds like you really are over your initial resistance towards this whole thing" Teddy said and put a reassuring hand on Arizona's shoulder.

"I think I am. She really is great. I _really_ like her"

"So your next move will be to invite her over and throw yourself at her?"

They both laughed.

"I even contemplated asking Mark for some advice"

"God, please don't. You'll never hear the end of it" Teddy laughed "But didn't you ask her to be more open?"

"Yeah"

"Then I think you owe it to her to be open too. Just talk to her about it. About your excitement AND your fears. She'll understand"

Arizona kept Teddy's word in her head until two days later when she was setting her dining room table and lighting candles.

Callie had been working almost non-stop since their night of kissing and they hadn't spoken since then. They'd sent each other lots of text messages though and they had agreed that Callie would now come for dinner at Arizona's.

When Callie knocked on the door at 6:30, Arizona's heart started hammering in her chest. She couldn't believe how exited she was to see the latina. And when she opened the door and saw the brunette she couldn't believe that she had ever thought that she wasn't attracted to Callie.

Callie was in uniform, carrying a small duffle bag and looking radiant.

"Hey" Arizona breathed out and smiled.

"Hey"

Callie stepped through the door, and as soon as Arizona had closed it behind them, Callie stepped up to her and gave her a kiss.

"I...I've been thinking about kissing you ever since I flew out the other night"

Arizona was all smiles.

"Me too"

"Do you think I could borrow your shower real quick?" Callie asked "I didn't have time to go home"

"Uhm...sure!"

She found a towel for Callie and left the latina in the bathroom. When she heard the shower being turned on her mind travelled to where Callie was now without a doubt naked and wet.

She wondered what Callie looked like naked. She'd seen her stomach and felt her ribs and from the dresses she'd seen Callie in, Arizona imagined that the latina would have a killer body. The though made her both excited and nervous.

When Arizona heard the hair dryer going, she quickly started putting the finishing touches on dinner. Callie stepped into the living room only a couple of minutes later.

She was wearing black jeans and a purple low cut shirt. She looked very cute. And hot. Always hot.

"Sorry. This isn't really candle light dinner fancy, but it's all I had in my overnight bag" Callie said while apologetically looking down at herself.

Arizona stared at her as if the blonde hadn't quite understood what Callie said.

"Are you kidding me? You look...you always look...I mean..."

Arizona blushed at her own babbling.

Callie looked over at her through dark eyelashes and smirked, and then she decided to save the blonde.

"What are we having? And is there anything I can do?"

Arizona swallowed. Could it be that she was so incredibly hungry for everything Callie that she was now no longer able to form coherent sentences? How did it happen this fast? Or had the hunger been there since their very first encounter?

"Uhm...I'm making chicken piccata" she said, willing herself to be calm and collected "You can open the wine"

They had a few glasses while Arizona finished cooking, and Arizona even managed to be a part of the conversation even though she felt emotionally shaken by Callie's presence.

When they sat down for dinner, the wine had made the blonde relax enough to not lose her ability to think whenever Callie looked at her.

They ate, talked about Ella's shenanigans and about Mark's latest love adventure. And then Arizona asked about Callie's job.

"Tell me about flying"

Callie smiled.

"It's exilirating. Like falling in love. Every time I race down the runway I get a huge rush. The moment when the wheels let go of the asphalt, it...I...I can't explain it. Growing up I was pretty sheltered. I was always asked to behave like a real girl. Climbing trees and speeding down the street on your bicycle was something only the boys were expected to do. My dad had these certain dreams for me. He wanted me to become a lawyer or a doctor actually. But at the same time I was always sort of in training to become a housewife. I hated it. So, I did a bachelor in development studies..."

"Really?" Arizona interrupted.

"Yeah. And then I signed up for the air force. My dad never said anything but I think he couldn't have been more disappointed. I brought home my first girlfriend that same year and I think that that was probably the final straw for both him and my mom. We...uh...we haven't had much of a relationship with them since. We're on friendly terms. But I don't get invited for Christmas"

"I'm sorry, Callie"

"It's okay. I've sort of gotten used to it. And I think flying has always given me a certain feeling of freedom that I never had growing up. Breaking through the clouds I feel in complete control of everything; the plane, myself, my destiny. I couldn't imagine a life without it"

Arizona looked at the latina with admiration. And happiness. Callie had kept her promise. She wasn't holding back anymore.

Arizona's eyes dropped to Callie's cleavage. The sight made goose bumps rise on her skin and she wondered if touching Callie would give the latina the same reaction.

Callie cleared her throat and it pulled Arizona out of her day dream. The blonde looked at the latina, slightly embarrassed by being caught so obviously staring. Callie didn't seem fazed though. She simply looked at Arizona with soulfull eyes.

They moved to the couch and talked some more. Arizona told stories from her time in med school and about the first time she ever operated on a child. She talked and talked because she knew that if she stopped she would want to kiss Callie. And kissing Callie might make her want more than just kissing. And she was afraid to start something that she didn't know if she would be able to finish. Or know how to finish. Or whether she was even ready for what came after kissing.

It was inevitable though. She ran out of things to say because her mind was only full of one thing; Callie.

She pushed the brunette backwards until Callie was on her back, and then Arizona crawled forward, straddled Callie's midsection, and leaned down over the brunette. She brushed her lips ever so lightly against Callie's. The closeness made her skin electric. It felt so good. Then she stopped what she was doing and pulled back a little. She studied Callie's face. And she seemed deep in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Callie asked and pulled a strand of loose curls behind Arizona's ear.

Arizona placed a hand on the top of Callie's chest and let a finger run the length of the latina's clavicle.

"Uh…sex…uh… God, that came out wrong…" she winced at her own words "I'm not thinking about sex with you…right now…I mean…not that I don't want sex…I do want sex…with you…I just…I just…I don't know. I don't know"

Arizona's trepidation and babbling melted Callie's heart.

Callie sat up against Arizona and put a hand on the blonde's hip. She let her other hand run up Arizona's side, and very gently let her thumb brush across the lower part of Arizona's breast. It almost made the blonde gasp out loud.

"Sex will happen. And you'll know. And when it happens I'll do my best to make it more pleasurable for you than you can possibly imagine"

Arizona's pupils expanded rapidly at Callie's words. This was the straight forward Callie that she had initially been drawn to.

She opened her mouth to say something, but before she had a chance to get any words out, Callie kissed her.

"Arizona, I don't do casual. I know this is all pretty new to you. It's new to me too. We're new. And I don't want to rush anything. We can give it a little time. Get to know each other better"

She looked at Arizona with sincere eyes and the blonde felt a small wave of relief wash over her. Unknowingly Arizona had been pushing herself towards something that she wasn't really ready for. She felt it. She felt the immense attraction towards Callie, and she knew that the attraction would only grow stronger, but getting to know each other a little bit better was what they needed before starting a sexual relationship.

She nodded. And closed her eyes for a second to take in Callie's soft words.

"I'm not saying we should wait forever" Callie chuckled "Just a little while. I think about it too, you know. Sex"

Arizona smiled. And before she knew it Callie had pushed her backwards so that she was now the one laying down with Callie hovering over her. The latina gave her the softest of kisses, and Arizona could smell her own shampoo in the brunette's hair. It made her unbelievably happy and it made her feel unbelievably good.

"Now I'll go home and then this weekend I'll take you out on a real date. Not at your place. Not at mine. And not in some Italian restaurant that Mark picks"

They both chuckled.

"That sounds really good" Arizona then said.


	18. Chapter 18

**CHAPTER 18**

Arizona was buried in surgeries for the following three days. But she didn't mind. It kept her busy and made time pass fast.

Callie had told her that she would pick her up at 7 Saturday night, and the date simply couldn't get there fast enough. Arizona thought about Callie. A lot. She received text messages from the latina at all hours of the day depending on where Callie was flying.

Her favorite since they last saw each other was one she had gotten from Washington, DC at midnight the day before. **Just arrived in Washington. Nowhere to eat but at Chuck E. Cheese's. Depressing airport hotel. Wish you were here. Seriously. - C** it said.

It was a sweet message. But for Arizona it carried something more. It told her that Callie though about her too. A lot.

When Saturday night arrived Arizona got ready much too early. She put on a blue dress and impatiently waited for 7 o'clock to roll around.

When Callie knocked on her door, she almost jumped to her feet and ran to the door. Outside was Callie, wearing a women's tuxedo and looking unbelievably sexy.

They drove for about half an hour until they reached the outskirts of one of the many forests that surrounded Seattle. Callie drove down a narrow gravel road and about a mile or so down the road was a very small building with an old neon light that said 'Joe's'.

Arizona looked at Callie questioningly.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but they have the best food here" the latina said.

And as they parked behind the building Arizona saw that that Callie wasn't the only one who was a fan of the food. The small parking lot was packed with cars.

'Joe's' was just as packed, but Callie had reserved a table for them in the back of the small restaurant. They would have privacy.

When the entrees arrived they were already deep into a conversation about the community center and what could be done for the young homeless in terms of family planning.

"If they would only wait with sex until they're a little bit older" Arizona said.

Callie studied the blonde.

"It's all they have" she then said.

"Sex?"

"No. Each other"

Arizona nodded at Callie's words as the latina continued.

"The best we can do is to be there for them and try to make it a better life for the next generation. I have great hopes for the kids that come to the center, but I know that not a lot can be done in terms of education etcetera. Once they're parents it gets hard. Most of them are looking at a life of no or poor employment. But what I can do is make sure that their kids get vaccinated, that they have food to eat, that they have a place to stay when they need it. And someone to talk to"

Arizona didn't say anything. She just looked at Callie in slight awe.

"What?" Callie said with a crooked smile.

"Nothing...just...you care...I love that" Arizona answered while trying not to seem too moved by Callie's words.

They both smiled. They were getting to know each other.

Their next date was at the zoo, and the date after that was a concert at The Showbox.

At some point during the concert Callie moved close to Arizona and took her hand. It made Arizona feel warm all over.

After the concert Callie drove Arizona home and they had a long makeout session in the latina's car.

When Arizona got out of the car she felt almost dizzy. She didn't look back when walking to her door because she was afraid that seeing Callie look at her would make her run back to the car, jump in and throw herself at Callie. She was trying to keep cool.

After getting ready for bed she received a message from Callie.

 **I had a good time :-) And maybe next time you can invite me up? No pressure. It can be a sleepover try-out. Flannel pajamas and no touching. What do you say? - C**

 **Wow, you're really selling it, Callie! ;-) I'd love to have a sleepover try-out. Wednesday? - A**

Arizona put the phone down, let herself fall back on her bed, and stared into the air. She got out her iPad and hesitantly looked at the icons. Then she pressed the search engine and typed in the words 'lesbian sex'.

The first many pages were porn sites and nothing really informative came up, so she put the iPad down and closed her eyes. She remembered what Callie had said. "You'll know"


	19. Chapter 19

**CHAPTER 19**

Wednesday was a good day. Arizona rocked every single one of her surgeries.

When she walked out of the hospital at 5 o'clock she felt like a million dollars. And she was going to have dinner with Callie. And she was going to ask Callie to sleep over.

She picked up dinner on her way home and bought wine, and five hours later Callie was sitting next to her on the couch, vigorously explaining something about runway asphalt.

During dinner the latina had picked up on the fact that Arizona was afraid of flying, and was now trying to convince Arizona that driving a car is much more dangerous than getting on a plane.

Her excitement and attempt to reassure Arizona about flying touched something inside the blonde.

"...and I'll take you up one day and show you how peaceful everything is in the cockpit. You'll be surprised. Most of the time we spend talking about women and listening to jazz" Callie chuckled.

Looking into Callie's eyes, Arizona felt like she was falling backwards into a large pool of warm love.

"Will you stay the night?" was all she could say.

"Yes"

Callie didn't hesitate. And she had brought an overnight bag.

Only half an hour later Arizona's breath hitched when Callie walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. She was only wearing panties and a sleeveless top. Her legs were even longer, more tanned and looking softer than Arizona remembered from seeing them when Callie was wearing a dress.

"I thought you said flannel pajamas?" she asked while pointing up and down the latina.

"Well, I don't own one" Callie said and shrugged like it was no big deal. Her bodily confidence was hot and disarming.

Arizona went into the bathroom and put on her pajama shorts and a tank top. She looked at herself in the mirror, took a deep breath and then went back into the bedroom.

Callie was sitting on the bed. She looked up when the blonde walked in and gave Arizona a warm smile.

"Where do you want me?" the latina asked.

Arizona looked like one big question mark.

"Which side of the bed, Arizona?" Callie said with a chuckle.

"Oh, whichever you want"

The blonde was constantly blushing and Callie found it endearing.

They got under the covers and were facing each other. Callie moved closer. Arizona could feel the brunette's breath on her face. And Callie's legs against her own. And then she could also feel Callie's lips on hers.

When Callie pulled back they looked at each other for a few minutes.

"You okay?" Callie asked.

"Very" Arizona nodded.

She felt so at ease.

And suddenly she felt so very ready. She took a deep breath and then she said exactly what was on her mind.

"Callie, I...I'm gonna need you to _touch_ me. And...I'm gonna need to touch you"

Callie's smile turned into a serious look. And right that second Arizona knew that Callie had waited for her to get to this point. Had waited for her to get ready.

Callie didn't say anything. Instead she simply pushed herself up on her arms, and lowered herself over Arizona. She kissed the blonde, and slowly let a hand run under Arizona's top, reaching her breast, and with a warm hand caressed it.

It made Arizona let go of a breath. And then she swallowed thickly, not breaking eye contact with the latina.

Callie kissed her neck and let her tongue run along Arizona's clavicle. She pulled off Arizona's top and ran her tongue down to a nipple that was already hard from excitement. She touched it softly, and then sucked it into her mouth and bit it lightly before letting go of it.

Arizona hissed and pushed her pelvis upwards towards Callie's body.

Callie looked up at the blonde.

"You'll tell me, right? If you want me to stop" she then said with the softest and most caring of voices.

"I...I'm not going to...want you to stop" Arizona breathed out.

Her words lit a fire in Callie's eyes, and the latina immediately continued worshipping the blonde's upper body. It was turning Arizona into a puddle of pure lust.

Then Callie grabbed the hem of her shorts and slowly pulled them down her legs, exposing her wet core.

Arizona was now completely naked. And her whole body was throbbing from want.

Callie looked at her.

"Callie...please" the blonde whispered.

Callie kissed her and let a hand run down towards the blonde's core. She let the hand rest on Arizona's pubic mound for a few seconds before she slipped it in between the blonde's legs to feel the moisture there.

She never stopped kissing Arizona. Not even when Arizona gasped out as Callie started rubbing her clit. Callie's skin felt so soft against her own and the feeling of having Callie's hand between her legs blew her mind.

Everything felt good. And safe. And amazing.

And then Callie let go and moved down the bed. She nudged Arizona's legs apart and then buried her head between them.

The second Arizona felt Callie's tongue and looked down at Callie's beautiful face, all she felt were little explosions of warmt inside that grew bigger and bigger until Callie penetrated her with two fingers and brought her over the edge so that she tumbled into a place where she couldn't breathe and where all she felt was Callie.

She nearly passed out.

Her eyelids were heavy and when she finally opened her eyes she had a hard time focusing.

Callie was next to her, a small drop of sweat rolling down her temple.

Arizona felt like she was going to burst into tears. Instead she gathered all her energy and latched herself onto Callie's lips.

"I...I...need you naked" she panted and pulled at Callie's t-shirt.

Callie grabbed her hand and said "Arizona..."

"Please" the blonde pleaded. She was dying to see Callie. And dying to touch her too.

Callie took a deep breath, and then she took off the shirt in a swift movement. Arizona didn't fail to notice how Callie cast a short glance at her abdomen as the scar was revealed.

The blonde immediately placed a hand on the scar as she moved closer to Callie. Arizona now felt confident and wanted - _needed_ \- to touch the latina.

She quickly moved her hand down and tugged at Callie's panties. As she pulled them down, she took in Callie's body and swallowed thickly.

The latina was beautiful. From her full breasts to the curve of her hip to her amazing legs. And the scar. In the dim light of the bedroom the scar looked like a beautiful piece of art on the canvas of Callie's skin. The lump in Arizona's throat grew bigger by the second.

She straddled Callie's thighs and tried to make the lump disappear by kissing the brunette. It didn't work. And as the tears came, Callie noticed immediately. The latina placed a hand on each of Arizona's cheeks and wiped the tears with her thumbs.

"You are so beautiful, Callie" the blonde whispered "And you feel so good"

Callie smiled at her softly and said "And you're a little overwhelmed?"

"I...I want to make you feel good" Arizona simply said and then ran her hand down between her own legs and further down between Callie's. She was overwhelmed. But determined.

And as she ran her fingers up and down Callie's fold, she got the reaction she wanted. Callie moaned, and the sound nearly made Arizona come a second time.

She continued to slowly penetrade Callie while rubbing the latina's clit with her thumb.

And in a brave move, she lounged herself forward and took Callie's left nipple into her mouth.

There were no more tears now. She couldn't believe how good it felt and how much the sound of Callie's pleasure was turning her on. Callie noticed and while enjoying what Arizona was doing to her, she snaked a hand between the blonde's legs and started touching Arizona again.

They moved at a steady rhythm, and pretty soon their movements became erratic. As she came, Callie tilted her head backwards in a whimper that sent Arizona over the edge as well.

Arizona fell forward on top of Callie and was gasping for air at the sound of Callie's rapidly beating heart. None of them said anything. They simply fell asleep tangled up in each other.

Later, when Callie woke up in the middle of the night, Arizona was no longer next to her in bed. So she got up and walked into the living room. Arizona was standing by the window, in a robe, looking out at the city.

"Burning the midnight oil?" Callie asked softly as to not scare the blonde.

Arizona turned around and looked at Callie, standing 5 feet away, naked.

"Just...I can't believe...Callie..."

"Does that robe have room for one more person?"

Arizona's slightly worried look turned into a small smile at Callie's disarming words.

She opened the robe and Callie stepped into her arms, their bodies pressed up against each other.

They looked into each other's eyes.

"Do you regret anything?" Callie then asked.

"No. God no" Arizona breathed out.

"Good"


	20. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER 20**

When Arizona walked into the hospital the next day at noon, she tried very hard to avoid Teddy. Teddy knew that Callie and Arizona hadn't had sex yet, and the blonde was sure that as soon as Teddy would see her, Teddy would know that sex had now happened. And Arizona wasn't ready for that. She wanted to keep it to herself for a little while. Like a sweet secret that was only hers and Callie's. And man did she feel good.

Callie had been gone when Arizona woke up, but had left a note that said

 _ **'Going to Chicago. I'll call you later.**_

 _ **xoxo**_

 _ **Callie**_

 _ **P.S. You look adorable when you sleep'**_

Arizona had solemnly folded the little piece of paper, and now carried it around in her doctor's gown.

Not long after getting to the hospital, her day turned horrible. A car accident involving 4 vehicles brought 3 children to her OR table and none of them survived their trauma.

As the last child was taken out of the OR, Arizona was the only one left in the room.

Teddy came in and stood by the door, watching Arizona. She knew what Arizona was feeling right at that moment and gave the blonde time to collect herself. Sending little children off to the morgue was always hard.

Arizona looked at Teddy, clenched her jaw and pulled off her surgery gown. She suddenly felt tired.

This wasn't what she had dreamed of for her post-first-night-with-Callie day.

"Coffee?" Teddy then asked.

"Yeah" Arizona croaked. She needed a break.

As they sat down in the staff lounge Arizona already felt a little better. Getting away from the smell in the OR always helped put some distance between herself and unsuccessful surgeries.

Teddy handed her a cup of coffee and as they looked at each other, Teddy noticed something in Arizona's eyes.

"You had sex!"

"How do you...?"

Teddy smiled and shrugged her shoulders "It's a gift. So, sex?"

"Yes, we had sex"

"And?"

Arizona took a deep breath and couldn't help but smile.

"It was...very, very good"

"Really?"

"Yes. New and a bit scary but very, very good"

"I hate you! And I need details"

Arizona laughed.

"What do you wanna know?"

"The practicalities. Like, did you guys...oral?" Teddy wiggled her eyebrows at the blonde.

Arizona bit her lip.

"Teddy...she blew my mind"

Teddy smiled as Arizona continued.

"It was... I touched her. And she came. But I didn't venture 'down there'"

"Are you going to?"

"Yes. I'm going to. I want to. I can't wait, actually" she simply stated.

It was the truth. The night before she'd been slightly insecure about her...abilities... Insecure about whether she would know how to please Callie. But hearing and feeling Callie respond to her touch and being surrounded by the smell of both her own and Callie's arousal had brought her a sense of belonging. Like touching, tasting, _feeling_ Callie was what she had been meant to be doing since she first started having sex. The only thing holding her back was a bit of stage fright. It was something that she was determined to push through though.

"Really?"

"Yes"

"Look at you all lesbian and brave!"

"I'm not a lesbian, Teddy!"

"Bisexual then. Whatever! Just enjoy it!" Teddy laughed and got up "I have surgery in 5. Call me later?"

Arizona rolled her eyes at her friend. "Sure" she said.

As Teddy was walking out the door, she turned around, said "Careful with overstimulation, Robbins", and winked at Arizona.

Her words made Arizona chuckle, and as the silence of the empty lounge wrapped itself around her, her mind drifted off towards Callie. She picked up her phone and saw that she had a missed call and a message from the latina.

 **I enjoyed yesterday. A lot! Xoxo - C**

Arizona looked at the clock. It was 11:30pm. She though that Callie was probably still in the air, or sleeping. She quickly typed in a message for the latina and hit 'send'.

 **When can I see you again? - A**

 **:-) I'm at the Watson Hotel by the airport because I have to fly out early in the morning. Come. If it's not too late? - C**

Arizona jumped to her feet and sprinted down the hall towards the showers. Half an hour later she was maneuvering around the parking area of the airport. She felt giddy. And the sight that met her when Callie opened the door to the hotel room only served to make her heartrate shoot through the roof. Callie was in a bath robe, newly showered, and looked amazing as always.

"How was your day?" the Latina asked.

"Horrible. How was Chicago?"

"Uneventful"

They laughed, and then Callie reached out her hand. Arizona took it and let herself be guided into the room.

"Are…are you naked under there?" Arizona asked with a trembling voice.

Callie looked at her with dark eyes.

"Yes"

"I want to taste you" the blonde then blurted out.

Arizona's outburst made Callie chuckle.

"No, don't laugh, please" Arizona nervously said and bit her lip.

Callie didn't say anything but simply let the bath robe fall to the floor. Arizona let her eyes rake up and down the latina's glorious body and swallowed thickly. Then she slowly started undoing the buttons of her own shirt and took off her pants. She paused for a second before she took off her bra and her panties.

They were now both completely naked.

"Come" Callie said with a low voice and once again took Arizona's hand.

They got on the bed and were on their knees in front of each other. They got close, and Callie put a hand on either side of Arizona's face and kissed the blonde deeply. It made Arizona dizzy.

Callie ran a hand down between Arizona's breasts, down over the blonde's stomach, and in between her legs. Arizona immediately did the same. She knew she was already wet herself, and when her hand met the wetness between Callie's legs, she felt an instant urge.

She put a hand on Callie's chest and pushed the latina back a little.

"Please, Callie…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes"

Arizona hadn't been surer of anything in her whole life.

Callie nodded and slowly sat down. She paused for a second, and then she leaned back on her elbows, legs spread slightly.

Arizona was frozen to the spot for a few long seconds. It wasn't that she was scared. Not anymore. She simply wanted to take in the moment. And to be completely present for what she was about to do.

She moved closer to Callie and leaned down over the Latina. She moved the kisses down Callie's neck and let the kisses turn into a tongue that travelled down Callie's body, leaving a wet trail that made goose bumps rise on Callie's skin.

And then she reached Callie's core.

She breathed in and tentatively let her tongue run the length of Callie's folds. As her tongue reached Callie's clit she looked up in time to see Callie's eyes close and her head fall back. The vision empowered Arizona. And Callie's scent made the two halves of the blonde's brain amalgamate into a ball of want.

She let her tongue move over the latina's clit, slowly at first, but picking up pace.

She heard Callie moan. She felt Callie's hands in her hair. And the increasing wetness between Callie's legs was clear evidence that the Latina was enjoying what Arizona was doing. It made Arizona feel like a super star. And it also made her extremely aroused. So aroused, that the throbbing of her own clit was almost painful. She'd never experienced sexual want like that before. The power with which her feelings for Callie were now exploding inside her chest was unnerving but felt so very amazing.

This. Having Callie like this. Was her new favorite thing in the whole world.

She felt Callie tremble under her tongue, and when Arizona slowly pushed two fingers into her, it didn't take long before Callie came in a guttural moan. Arizona could feel Callie's walls contract, and it almost sent the blonde over the edge. She sat up, looked at Callie who was now basking in the afterglow of the orgasm, and then she straddled the brunette and brought her lips to Callie's forehead. She loved the feeling of their bodies pressed together like that. She could feel Callie's heartbeat.

Then she sat back up and made eye contact with Callie who was still panting slightly. She reached out and grabbed Callie's hand, brought it to her own center, and let Callie penetrate her with two fingers. She paused for a second as if to regain her bearings, and then she started riding Callie's hand, all the while keeping eye contact with the latina.

It took her less than two minutes to orgasm, and as her eyes fluttered closed all she kept seeing was Callie's beautiful face and dark, dark eyes, and all she could taste was Callie.

As she slowly came back to earth, she felt Callie move underneath her. The Latina quickly flipped them over so that Arizona was now underneath her. Arizona opened her eyes and looked directly into Callie's. She could feel Callie's heart beating in sync with her own.

And then Callie kissed her. It wasn't a lustful kiss. It was full of love. Callie felt it. And Arizona felt it.

"I think I'm falling in love with you" Arizona whispered half in wonder half in surrender and then she clenched her jaw at the sound of her own very honest words.

"l'm already there" Callie simply said.


	21. Chapter 21

**CHAPTER 21**

They didn't see each other for the following week. Callie was in Alaska, Florida, and New Hampshire. And Arizona spent most of her awake time at the hospital.

Arizona missed Callie. And she was slowly getting more and more desperate to see the Latina. It was a pleasant form of desperation though. And she knew Callie felt the same. They sent each other messages and called whenever possible.

Friday morning Callie finally wrote the message Arizona had been waiting for.

 **Last shift. Can't wait to have some time off! - C**

 **I think about you all the time. I need to see you. - A**

 **I'll drive straight to your place tonight. Please tell me you're not on call? - C**

Arizona felt both of their urgency ring through the correspondence. She swallowed thickly. And then she pressed 'send' on the message she had written.

 **I'll be home. And I'll be naked. Please tell me you'll want to be naked too. - A**

She stared at her phone, wondering if her message had been a bit _too_ desperate. But she didn't need to worry because Callie's mind was in the same place.

 **I'll want to be naked too. - C**

The words made Arizona shiver.

Eight hours later the blonde was pacing her living room. She couldn't quite control how impatient she was. She simply couldn't wait to see Callie.

When she finally heard a knock on her door and opened it, she was pushed back into the room with force by Callie's body. The Latina frantically pulled at the blonde's clothes while directing them towards the bedroom.

"I thought you said you'd be naked" she grunted half in jest half in desperation to rid Arizona of the clothes that kept her from feeling the blonde's skin.

Arizona simply moaned as Callie finally pulled her shirt off and grabbed the blonde's breasts with strong hands.

Within seconds they were both naked and on Arizona's bed, Callie straddling the blonde and holding her hands down over her head with strong arms while kissing her fiercely.

The Latina positioned herself so that their cores were touching, and the mere feeling of the warmth coming off Callie's center made Arizona close her eyes and bite her bottom lip in ecstasy. She was not going to last very long.

Callie paused for a second and then started rocking her hips slowly, effectively bringing some much needed friction to both of their sexes.

"AH!" Arizona gasped. This was new to her. And it felt amazing.

"Does this feel good, baby?" Callie whispered.

Arizona couldn't form words. She looked at Callie, mouth opened slightly, lips wet with want, but no words came out. The pleasure of what Callie was doing to her made it impossible for her to form words, let alone a sentence.

"Fuck me" the blonde finally managed to get out.

Callie smiled at Arizona's words.

"Say it again" she whispered.

"Fuck me" Arizona drawled out.

And that's what Callie did.

She sped up her movements for a minute and then quickly got off the blonde and penetrated her with three fingers. Arizona's lower body shot off the mattress at the feeling of being filled by Callie, and as she crashed back down against the bed she shook out an orgasm that was so intense that she nearly fainted.

As she came to, she was hot and sweaty, and she felt Callie's skin sticking to her own. It was an amazing feeling.

"I've been thinking about doing that to you for days" Callie whispered and took Arizona's left nipple between her lips.

She placed little kisses from the blonde's breast all the way to Arizona's lips that were now dry from all the panting she had been doing.

Arizona just nodded. She was gathering strength for what she so desperately wanted to do; feel Callie, taste Callie, make Callie feel good.

She got up on her knees and looked down at Callie. Then she ran a finger over Callie's skin from the top of the scar to Callie's bottom lip.

"I want to make you come. Hard" she said while not breaking eye contact with Callie.

Callie swallowed thickly. She knew that wouldn't be a problem. She was already halfway over the edge from seeing Arizona orgasm.

"Then do it" the Latina whispered.

That was all it took for Arizona to not be able to hold herself back anymore.

She positioned herself over Callie, her hand no longer moving slowly across Callie's skin, but aiming directly at Callie's core. The latina gasped as Arizona began to rub her clit with force. It felt good and had a touch of pain to it that only served to bring the latina closer to ecstasy.

Arizona leaned down and took one of Callie nipples in her mouth and bit down causing Callie to yelp. The blonde then ran a soothing tongue across the nipple before she attacked the other nipple.

"Ah" Callie hissed, and she felt her walls clench together.

"What do you need, baby?" Arizona whispered while never stopping what her hand was doing between Callie's legs.

"I…I…" Callie tried. But her brain now no longer sent information to her mouth.

"Come for me" Arizona then said in the most loving of voices and pressed her own body against the latina's.

It was the feeling of Arizona's sweaty skin and Arizona's tongue on her neck that finally sent Callie flying into a sky full of sparkly lights, the pleasure rolling through her like boulders going down a hill. Unstoppable.

Arizona felt Callie shake underneath her and it did something to Arizona. She couldn't believe that she was the one causing Callie this pleasure. And the way Callie's mouth opened slightly and how her eyes were closed tight as she panted out the orgasm, wrapped itself around Arizona's heart and squeezed tight.

When Callie opened her eyes and looked into Arizona's, the blonde just knew, deep down in her heart, that she had been interested in Callie since the second the Latina walked into the restaurant on the date Mark had set them up on.

She just hadn't known. She hadn't known that it could be like this. That attraction wasn't about gender but about the look Callie had in her eyes as she came down from her high. Surrender.

She saw that look in Callie's eyes many times from that night on. And she was sure the look in her own eyes matched it.

They saw each other whenever it fit with both their schedules and dates that started with dinner, a movie, a walk in the park, or ice cream by the water front, always ended in naked nights of immense closeness and pleasure.

Arizona was quickly growing addicted to the latina. And the feeling was mutual with Callie.

One night, after taking a long bath together and making out forever, Callie was lazily drawing patterns on the skin of Arizona's hip. They were both emerged in thoughts of how right everything felt.

"I have four days off next week" the brunette said.

"Really?" Arizona sat up with a big smile on her face "My boss has been begging me to use some of my overtime hours and take time off. Maybe…maybe we could…"

"I'm going to Miami with Sebastián and Ella" Callie said before Arizona got a chance to finish her sentence.

"Oh" Arizona couldn't help but sound a bit disappointed "That's nice" The blonde tried to smile.

"Yeah" Callie sighed "We've had it planned for a while, and Ella has been going on and on about the beach. I…I just…"

"It's okay, Callie. Don't worry. I'll be here when you come back" Arizona said, trying to push her own disappointment back. She let a finger run down Callie's cheek and across the latina's full lips.

They were both silent for a while.

"Tell me…tell me if this is just all too soon and you would rather not, please, but do you think you'd want to come?" Callie then said. She looked at Arizona with trepidation.

"To Miami? Really?" Callie's words caught Arizona by surprise.

"Yeah, I mean, unless you think it's…"

"Yes! Yes. I'd love to come"

Callie looked relieved.

"Great!"


	22. Chapter 22

**CHAPTER 22**

Driving to the airport where she would meet Callie, Sebastián, and Ella, Arizona suddenly felt nervous. She was afraid it would be awkward with Sebastián whom she hadn't seen since their date. And she also suddenly felt like she was crashing a family vacation.

When she pulled into the parking garage at the airport and saw her three travelling companions getting out of Callie's car, she couldn't help but smile though.

Ella's face lit up when she saw the doctor, and Sebastián gave her a warm smile. They all hugged her as she walked up to them. It felt a little like coming home, and when Callie grabbed her hand as they walked towards check-in and Ella started asking her questions about the differences between hands and feet, she felt welcome.

They waited by the gate and were let on the plane as the first passengers because Callie knew the crew. When they got on the plane, Callie chatted with the pilot and the first officer for a few minutes, and Arizona watched and listened as the three pilots got into some technical details regarding the type of aircraft they were on. She could tell that the two people were as mesmerized by Callie as herself.

"Did you know that tia Callie flies planes?"

Arizona looked down at Ella who was looking back at her with big eyes as if the girl was in awe of what her aunt was capable of.

"Yes, and I bet she's really good at it" Arizona said and squeezed the girl's hand. Arizona was nervous, but she was adamant not to let it show. At least not around Ella.

"I have flied with her many times" the girl continued.

"Flown" Sebastián corrected her.

"I have _flown_ with her many times," Ella babbled on "and when she flies she says 'This is Senior Captain Torres speaking'"

Arizona smiled at how Ella changed her voice to make it sound like Callie's.

"But today she is not flying because she says she has to hold your hand because you are afraid of flying. Isn't that right, doctor Robbins?"

Arizona's heart melted a little at Ella's words. They meant that Callie had been talking about her. And once again they proved how caring Callie was.

Arizona squatted next to the girl, pulled a strand of lose hair behind her ear and said "Yes, that's right, I'm a little bit scared of flying. And I'm glad Callie is here to hold my hand"

As she got back up, the girl moved into the next speech about how wonderful Callie was.

"She's really strong, so she can probably hold your hand really tight…"

The rest of her words were muffled by the fact that Sebastián was now pulling the girl out of the aisle and into her seat.

"I'm chopped liver" Sebastián sighed in a mock defeated voice "I can never be as cool as her aunt"

Arizona laughed and sat down in the row behind them. Callie soon joined them and sat down next to Arizona.

"How did we get these first class seats?" Arizona asked.

"Well…" Callie started. Arizona noticed that Sebastián looked back at Callie.

"…I have a lot of miles on my frequent flyer card…"

"Oh" Arizona nodded. That made sense.

"…and I added a little cash" Callie then finished.

"A little cash?" Arizona asked.

"Yeah. Just a little. Don't worry about it, okay"

Arizona gave the latina an inquisitive look, but she didn't get a chance to dig deeper into the costs of their seats, because now the rest of the passengers were seated, and the plane started moving.

It caught Arizona by surprise, and she immediately reached for Callie's hand.

"That scared, huh?" Callie whispered.

Arizona swallowed.

"Yeah" she breathed out.

Callie was a bit surprised by how terrified Arizona looked, but she knew what to do.

"Do you want me to talk you through it? Tell you what's going on?"

Arizona locked eyes with Callie. She didn't want to risk looking out the window. And then she nodded slowly.

"Okay. Right now the pilot is getting the last wind report and he and the first officer are probably chatting about what they did with their families this weekend"

Callie kissed Arizona's forehead and continued talking as they rolled into the take-off lane.

"Now they're checking the air pressure, the hydraulic system, and the electric system"

As the plane got unto the runway and they could hear the engines being fired up, Arizona's hold of Callie's hand tightened.

"As soon as the engines are warmed up, they let the machine go. They're holding it back until there's power enough to kick it into a high enough speed to take off"

Arizona closed her eyes and imagined Callie in the cockpit, going through the different safety procedures.

As the machine started running down the runway, she could see Sebastián reading the paper and hear Ella humming a tune in front of them. And she could feel Callie's strong hand holding on to hers. It soothed her. Actually, it soothed her so much, that she slowly let go and dozed off with her head on Callie's shoulder.

When she woke up, her eyes met Ella's. The little girl was standing on her own seat, looking back at Arizona, studying the blonde. For a second Arizona didn't remember where she was, but when she saw Callie next to her, reading a book, she remembered.

"Hi doctor Robbins" Ella said "Are you still scared?"

Arizona cleared her throat to let go of the sleep "No, Ella. I'm not scared anymore"

Ella gave Callie an excited smile as if saying 'See what you did. You saved her from the fear'. It made Callie and Arizona chuckle.

"Ella, why don't you sit down and give doctor Robbins some space" Sebastián said and pulled at the girl's shirt.

"It's okay, Sebastián" Arizona said "And Ella, maybe you could start calling me Arizona instead of doctor Robbins. At least when we're not at the hospital"

The little girl nodded enthusiastically and then sat down in her seat.

"Not scared, huh?" Callie whispered.

"Nope. Not right now" Arizona was being honest.

"Good. Nothing to be scared of. Only 8% of all accidents happen while at cruising altitude"

"You dork!" Arizona laughed.

Callie pulled her in for a kiss and they both smiled into each other's lips as they heard a small gasp from the seat in front of them, and Ella informing her dad of what she had just witnessed while spying on the two women.

"Tia Callie kissed Arizona!" she unsuccessfully tried to whisper "On the mouth!"

"She did?!" Sebastián played along.

"Yes she did. Do you think they are girlfriends with each other, papa?"

"I think you should ask tia Callie that some time, baby. But not right now, okay?"

"Okay" the girl said in an excited voice.

Callie looked at Arizona who was smiling at Ella's antics. The little girl truly was adorable.

When they landed, Callie picked up their car from the rental company and they drove to the hotel. It was late, so they had a quick dinner in the hotel restaurant before they went up to their floor to go to sleep. They put Ella to bed in the room the girl shared with her dad. Everybody got lots of kisses from Ella.

As Sebastián walked Callie and Arizona out into the hall to say goodnight, Ella yelled from inside the room.

"Tia, Callie?! Will you come and say goodnight again? Alone!"

They all chuckled, and then Arizona and Sebastián were both left to wait outside the door of the room while Callie went back in again. The door was slightly ajar though, so they both heard the not so successful whisper of the 5-year old.

"Tia Callie, are you and Arizona girlfriends with each other?"

"I don't know. I haven't asked her if she wants to be my girlfriend yet" Callie whispered back, trying to be as serious about it as Ella was.

"Do you want me to ask her?" the meddling girl then asked.

"No no, I think I should do that myself, but I will let you know what she says, okay?"

"Okay"

When Callie came out into the hall she realized from seeing Sebastián's smile and Arizona blush, that they had heard the conversation.

"Your daughter is very perceptive, Sebastián" she said and gave her brother a friendly kick to the shin.

He put his hands up in mock surrender "She doesn't get that from me. She wants to join the air force, and she says she needs to train for spying on enemies. Now who would be her reason for wanting to go down that career path?" he said in mock wonder.

"Shut it!" Callie said "She is NOT joining any part of the army! I'll be a nervous wreck having her run around overseas meddling with everything"

They all laughed, and then Sebastián walked them to their room.

They all stepped inside, Callie wanting to give Sebastián a brochure on a school in Seattle that offered extra Spanish lessons. A place that might be good for Ella.

Arizona stayed by the door, looking around the giant suite they were in. She had noticed that Sebastián and Ella's room was pretty grand, and now seeing where she and Callie were going to be staying, she was a bit baffled. It was a large suite, and she knew that since they were on the top floor, the room probably hadn't been cheap.

"You guys, who…who paid for this place?" she asked.

Sebastián and Callie looked up.

"Uhm…" Callie started "I did…"

"But this must have cost a fortune?"

"Well…I don't know…I mean…" Callie fumbled.

"What Callie can't get herself to tell you is…" Sebastián interrupted.

"Sebastián…" Callie warned.

"…that we're rich" the guy deadpanned.

"Sebastián, por favor!" Callie said in a firm tone.

"Goodnight" Sebastián said with a chuckle, gave them both a kiss on the cheek, and left the room.

Arizona stared at Callie and Callie looked back at her. There was unease and a bit of embarrassment in the latina's eyes.

"Rich?" Arizona said, her arms now crossed.

"Well…yeah…uhm…"

"I thought you mom was an engineer?"

"She was. She is. Uhm…it's my dad…he uhm…he owns a large company"

This was uncomfortable for Callie. She didn't like to talk about her wealth. And she was always afraid that it would come between her and her relationships.

"Okay" Arizona said. The tone in her voice let Callie now that she needed a bit more information.

"He's retired now, but he still owns it. BestWave"

"The shipping company?"

"Yes"

"Oh…" Realization hit Arizona "Wow!"

Callie clenched her jaw. She felt like she knew Arizona, but she didn't know exactly how the blonde would react to this.

"But…but you said you don't have any contact with them. How…"

"They split up the fortune when Sebastián and I were 18 and 19. We both own parts of the company. And even though I'm sort of a…pariah…I'm still involved in some ways. Actually, the only time I ever see my dad is for the yearly board meeting"

Arizona nodded slowly, trying to take in this new information. She didn't care about the money. When she looked at Callie though, she noticed that the Latina looked slightly nervous. As if she was afraid that Arizona would either grab her bag and leave, or start ordering Cristal.

"Arizona… My parents moved back here from Seattle when my mom retired. They live here. In Miami. And we're not staying at their house. Sebastián and Ella will go visit them. They'll know I'm here too, but they will not ask about me. Or ask to see me. It's a silent agreement; I don't embarrass them by being gay and stubborn in their face. And they let me be. I know it may sound a bit…I don't know…like I'm on the losing end or something…but I accept it because…"

"Callie…you don't have to explain. I mean, I'm…I'm a little surprised, but this doesn't change anything. I just wish you hadn't gotten this for us" she stuck out her arms to point at the suite they were standing in "It's too much"

Callie couldn't help but let go of a relieved sigh. Arizona was every bit as down to earth as she had been since the moment they met.

"I didn't know how to tell you. It's always awkward" Callie then said apologetically.

"And you think I wouldn't notice the first class seats and the lush suite?" Arizona chuckled.

Callie's lips formed a small smile. She was happy that things weren't tense between them.

"I figured you'd buy my story of my frequent flyer miles" she cheekily let out.

"You fly a lot, Callie. But not _this_ much" the blonde looked at Callie with love "I'll accept staying here because…well, because it's pretty amazing…"

Callie's smile grew bigger.

"But next time I'm paying. And we'll be staying at a Super 8"

"Wha…" the brunette started, but she was cut off by Arizona's lips being pressed towards hers.

"No more talking" Arizona whispered.


	23. Chapter 23

**CHAPTER 23**

When Callie's phone rang the next morning, both women groaned. They hadn't gotten much sleep due to some long sex sessions. And both their bodies were aching from the energy they had put into pleasing each other.

Callie picked up with an "It's too early, Sebastián" and quickly pulled the phone away from her ear as Ella's exited voice rang through. Arizona could hear her loud and clear.

"Tia Callie, we're going to the beach! You have to get up so we can have breakfast and then we will go SWIMMING! My bathing suit has CUPCAKES on it"

Callie looked like she was in pain, and Arizona was giggling into her pillow at the little girl's enthusiasm. Ella was a handful, but she was a cute and funny kid.

"Okay" Callie groaned "Tell your dad we'll be down in twenty minutes"

"Okay. I'll wake him up now"

"Wait! He's not awake?" Callie said.

But Ella had already hung up.

Arizona was now no longer giggling but laughing out loud.

"She…she…constantly plays the both of you" she managed to get out between fits of laughter.

"You think that's funny, huh?" Callie said as she started tickling the blonde. Arizona squealed and tried to fight off the latina. She ended up running into the bathroom. Callie followed and soon Callie was on her knees in front of Arizona in the shower.

"Callie…we don't have time…" the blonde managed to say as Callie took her clit into her mouth. From that moment on Arizona didn't protest. Naturally they didn't manage to get ready in only twenty minutes, but since Sebastián was also running a bit behind Ella's schedule, they all ended up arriving at breakfast at the same time.

An hour later they had found a nice secluded part of the beach and set up camp. Sebastián was on his back reading a book and Arizona was watching as Ella was bossing Callie about. The two of them were building a sand castle and Ella gave directions like a pro.

At some point Callie stood up straight, took a few steps towards the ocean, tilted her head towards the sky, and closed her eyes. She was enjoying the sun and the warmth it brought.

Standing there, in her dark red bikini, sunlight framing her body, she looked like an amazon warrior.

Callie's was strong but also displayed a softness that Arizona couldn't quite put a finger on. Her long hair, her curves, her smile. It all made Arizona weak in the knees. And the scar. The scar was on full display. It made Callie's tanned skin look even more tanned and it made her look so tough. A survivor who carried her battle scars without fully realizing how amazing and strong they made her.

Ella noticed that Arizona was staring at Callie.

"Tia Callie got hurt when she was flying far away. That's why she has the drawing on her stomach. Papa told me that she cried a little but not a lot because she is very brave"

Arizona ran her hand over Ella's dark hair. "That's right, sweetheart. She is"

When she looked back over at Callie, the latina was looking back at her. Callie had heard what Ella said. They locked eyes and the warmth radiating from Callie's eyes transferred to Arizona's chest. She could do nothing but stare at the latina, and it wasn't until Callie spoke that Arizona finally snapped out of her haze.

"Don't you think we should ask Arizona to help us with the castle, Ella?" the brunette said without breaking eye contact with the doctor.

"Yes!" Ella said excitedly.

And that's how they spent their time until lunchtime.

In the afternoon Ella and Sebastián went to visit Callie's parents. Ella kept asking why Callie and Arizona weren't coming, and Arizona could tell that Callie cringed when she told the girl "I'll visit them some other time, baby. Today it's just you and your dad, okay"

"You NEVER come, tia Callie" the girl then said in an exasperated voice.

Callie looked at Sebastián for help.

"Baby, leave tia Callie alone now. You'll have fun with abuela and abuelo. And tomorrow we'll go and have fun with tia Callie and Arizona.

The little girl huffed, crossed her arms, and looked at Callie with evil eyes. Arizona could tell that it broke Callie's heart.

After Sebastián and Ella left, Callie stood at the window of the suite for a few minutes, looking out at the gorgeous Miami day.

Arizona walked up behind her and wrapped her arms around the Latina. Callie leaned her body back slightly against the blonde and said "Sorry about the secrets and the family drama"

"Don't be sorry. I won't have to pay for cable to get Telemundo this way"

It was a joke, but Arizona made sure to tighten her grip around the latina's midsection as she spoke the words, to make sure that Callie knew she also empathized with Callie. She wanted to let Callie know that she didn't care about whatever drama was going on. She simply enjoyed being there with the latina.

Callie turned around. The joke had worked. The Latina was smiling.

"You wanna go for a drive?" she then asked.

"Sure!"

They drove around for hours, and Callie showed Arizona the schools she went to and where she used to hang out before they moved to Seattle.

In the evening they had a romantic dinner and a few drinks in the hotel bar. They enjoyed their alone time.

At 11 o'clock they took the elevator to their room. All the way up Callie had a mischievous look on her face.

"What?" Arizona asked.

"I…I have something to show you"

"What is it?"

"You'll see" Callie said "It's a surprise"

When they got to their room, Callie pulled a pink box out of her suitcase and put it on the table. The box had a heart-shaped logo on it, and the word 'Lust'.

Arizona looked at Callie questioningly but also with a small smile tugging at her lips. She had a feeling what the content of the box was to be used for, but she had no idea what it was exactly.

"Open it" the latina said.

Arizona hesitated for a few seconds, but then she slowly lifted the lid of the box, exposing a harness and a strap-on, placed neatly on a bed of velvet.

An almost inaudible gasp escaped her lips and her gaze darted from the content of the box to Callie's dark eyes.

She didn't know what to say. What Callie had – quite literally – brought to the table made her nervous. But only because it was something completely new. The thought of using the strap-on with Callie however, quickly made a warmth spread across her chest, down through her stomach, and in between her legs.

"Tell me," Callie said in a low voice "if this is something you'd like to try"

Arizona swallowed and looked down at the strap-on. She let a finger run down the length of the silicone piece. The feeling of it and the thought of how the attachment would feel inside of her made goose bumps rise on her arms.

"Yes" she simply said.

Callie nodded "Then take your clothes off"

The blonde did as requested while Callie also rid herself of her outfit.

Callie lifted the blonde up on the table and let her tongue circle Arizona's belly button before moving down to her clit.

Arizona arched her back from the pleasure Callie was causing. The feeling of Callie eating her out sent rivers of warm blood to her brain and made it impossible for her to keep a hold of herself. She simply let go.

After a few minutes, Callie stopped what she was doing. Arizona opened her eyes and looked at the latina. Callie was now naked, and Arizona watched as the brunette pulled the strap-on harness up her legs and tightened it around her hips. Callie didn't break eye contact, and the intenseness of the moment caused Arizona to writhe slightly on the table. She was ready for what Callie was about to do. And her core was impatient.

Callie spread the blonde's legs wider and moved very close. Arizona could feel the tip of the strap-on touch her opening.

She swallowed thickly.

Callie put a flat hand on her stomach and directed the strap-on with her other hand. As she penetrated Arizona, the blonde let go of a whimper so sexy that the latina's legs almost gave in.

She pushed in and out of the blonde slowly at first but picked up pace as Arizona grabbed her hips.

Arizona half sat up and Callie leaned in so that the blonde could put her arms around her. Arizona burrowed her head in the crook of Callie's neck, and bit down hard on Callie's shoulder when the feeling of Callie's hard thrusts and the base of the strap-on pushing against her clit made her tumble over the edge.

She let herself fall back on the table and Callie collapsed on top of her.

As the latina pulled out of her, Arizona felt her vagina throb with a warmth that threatened to make her pass out.

She didn't take long to regain her bearings though, and quickly moved to pull the harness down Callie's legs. She pushed Callie down on the couch and immediately started rubbing the latina's clit while pushing her tongue into her mouth. She couldn't get enough of Callie. And even though she still felt inexperienced, she was no longer scared to just go for it.

When the blonde moved down Callie's body and took the latina's clit in her mouth, Callie felt high. As if everything that was happening was merely a dream. She could smell Arizona's perfume, and feel the blonde's soft tongue against her sex, but she wasn't sure if what was happening was reality. That's how good it felt.

As she ran her fingers through Arizona's blonde curls, she came with a quiet whimper and quickly pulled the blonde up her own body so that they were mouth to mouth. Callie could taste herself on Arizona's lips. The blonde blew her mind.

"That was amazing. Everything with you is...amazing" Arizona breathed out.

Callie grabbed her face, ghosted her lips across the blonde's and whispered " _You_ are amazing"

They stayed on the couch for a long time without saying anything. After a while Arizona ran the tip of her index finger along the edge of the scar. She could tell by the slight tremble coming from Callie's abdominal skin, that the nerve endings were sensitive.

"When I first...saw...it in Iraq, I thought 'How ironic! My best friend is a plastic surgeon and here I am, full of metal clamps'... But then when I got back to the States it became less about the scar and more about having survived. I was in a...bad place…for a while, but I never let Mark get near it. I still don't like it when people I don't know see it for the first time, but I've made my peace with it"

"And you have a small fan who'll beat off any bullies" Arizona said and smiled at Callie.

The brunette chuckled "Yeah, Ella is wonderful. She doesn't know the full story of course, but she often talks about the 'drawing'. I think she knows that something very bad happened. And she knows that we don't want her to know. So she protects herself – and us – by making it into a bad ass thing"

"It _is_ a bad ass thing"

Callie looked at her.

"Arizona… Stop being so…good"

"Never"


	24. Chapter 24

**CHAPTER 24**

The next day they went to the Everglades. They went on a boat tour, saw crocodiles and snakes, and at the souvenir shop Ella hustled her way into not just one but two large stuffed toy animals. It was a long an eventful day.

Sebastián drove the car back to the hotel and Arizona was in the front seat next to him. Callie and Ella were in the back seat. Ella lay with her head in Callie's lap and the latina ran a soothing hand through the girl's hair.

"Can you sing, please, tia Callie?"

"Which one?" Callie simply asked.

"The one with the pennies"

Callie cleared her throat and then she started singing, in a quiet and soothing voice.

" _Every time it rains, it rains pennies from heaven_

 _Don't you know each cloud contains pennies from heaven?_

 _You'll find your fortune's fallin' all over town_

 _Be sure that your umbrella is upside down_ "

Arizona tried the best she could to not turn around and stare at Callie. She kept looking ahead, but her body tensed up at the beautiful, beautiful sound of Callie's voice. She didn't know Callie sang. But the sound of Callie singing was from that moment her very favorite thing in the whole world.

" _Trade them for a package of sunshine and flowers_

 _If you want the things you love you must have showers_

 _So when you hear it thunder don't run under a tree_

 _There'll be pennies from Heaven for you and me"_

Sebastián pulled up in front of the hotel entrance and they got out of the car. Arizona could hardly concentrate on her own movements. She was consumed with everything Callie. And then she saw it. Callie bending down, gently lifting the sleeping Ella from the back seat, nestling the little girl in her arms, and placing a soft kiss on the girl's forehead before walking towards the doors to the hotel lobby.

The sight made Arizona weak in her knees. She suddenly had a flash vision of a future with Callie. A future that could involve everything. Even children. It was a daunting thought and it made her eyes glaze over with the realization that she was in fact completely and head over heels in love with Callie.

"Are you coming?" Sebastián asked the blonde as he closed the trunk of the car. He was smiling at her. And Arizona knew that the reason he was smiling was because he knew exactly what she was thinking about.

She swallowed and nodded as she grabbed her purse and walked into the lobby.

She watched closely as Callie and Sebastián had a whispered conversation on the elevator, not wanting to wake up Ella. It was a fun banter between siblings. And she watched as Callie put the girl down on the bed in Sebastián's room. Arizona knew that Callie was strong, but she was also so very gentle. It sent shivers down Arizona's spine.

Arizona had brought Ella's teddy bear from the car and she put it down next to the girl before her and Callie left for their own room.

As they walked into the suite, Callie went to the mini bar and got out a bottle of wine. She started setting out glasses, and put on some slow music. Arizona was still standing by the door.

"You sing"

Callie turned around and looked at the blonde questioningly.

"You sing" Arizona repeated.

"Uh…" Callie started "Yeah. I mean…I guess"

"No. Not 'I guess'. You sing. Beautifully. And I didn't even know. How come I haven't heard that before?"

"I don't know. I mostly sing in the shower. And whenever Ella asks me to"

"Will you sing when I ask you to?"

Callie blinked.

"Yes. I will"

Arizona had a feeling when and what she would like Callie to sing, but it was much too soon for that. She would carry Callie's promise in her heart though. A promise of a song. It almost made Arizona cry.

So much had happened in a very short amount of time, and now Arizona was standing in front of Callie. In a hotel room in Miami. And she was pretty certain that she already loved the latina. With all her heart.

They made love to each other so gently that night that Callie almost had an out of body experience.

She'd been with other women. Lots of women. But she'd never been touched the way Arizona touched her. The blonde approached her with such wonder and warmth and at times it was almost too much to bear.

After sex Arizona always let a finger run the length of the scar. Every time it felt like she was zipping closed another part of Callie's trauma. It felt good. Safe.


	25. Chapter 25

**CHAPTER 25**

None of them wanted to burst their bubble by leaving Miami, but work was calling.

They got on the plane back to Seattle, and Arizona felt confident sitting next to Callie who once again talked Arizona through the take-off. This time Ella was behind them, and fell asleep soon after take-off, so they didn't have an audience for everything.

When they reached the cruising altitude, the stewardesses started serving snacks. A tall, beautiful woman walked down the aisle and stopped right next to Callie.

"Captain Torres" the stewardess said and handed the latina and Arizona little bags of peanuts. She leaned in over Callie, giving the brunette a nice view of her cleavage.

"Tina" Callie simply said and took the peanuts. The stewardess winked at her before she walked on down the aisle.

Callie stared straight ahead, trying to act like nothing happened.

Arizona looked at her.

"You know her?"

"Uh…yeah" Callie said, avoiding eye contact with the blonde.

"How well?"

"Pretty well"

Arizona chuckled as Callie nervously moved around in her seat.

"Callie, it's okay. We both have a past. I just didn't know that yours worked here"

"We…uh…have a lot of free time when we're in between flights… Sometimes things happen"

"You don't have to explain, Callie. I get it" Arizona took a deep breath, and then she continued "I trust you won't let things happen now that you have a girlfriend"

Callie locked eyes with the blonde.

"Girlfriend, huh?" she said as the corners of her mouth slowly lifted her lips into a smile.

Arizona smiled. She didn't get to answer though because right as the plane started the descent towards Seattle, they heard a large thump from the back end of the plane, and then frantic voices.

"We need a doctor, please. Is there a doctor on board?" a desperate voice called out.

Arizona immediately got out of her seat and rushed down the aisle. A man was on the floor, not moving.

"I need some help!" she yelled as she started ripping the shirt of the man on the floor apart. Everybody was in shock and no one reacted, so she yelled again "SOME HELP!"

Sebastián sprinted down the aisle and kneeled next to her. She didn't look up from checking the guy's vitals, and simply gave directions as she prepped him for CPR.

"You'll blow twice every time I stop. Not a large blow. What a regular breath would be"

She could feel that Sebastián was nervous.

"It'll be okay" she said to calm him down before she lifted a fist in the air and crashed it down on the guy's chest. She listened for a heartbeat. Nothing. Another hit with her fist. Still nothing. So she climbed on top of the guy and started pumping. Every time she paused, Sebastián blew air into the lungs of the man"

After a couple of minutes a small strangled cry came from the man. He was back.

Arizona's voice changed from commanding to soothing as she told the man to lay still and simply breathe.

"Don't worry, don't worry. You're okay, you're okay" she chanted while keeping two fingers on the man's pulse point as the plane set down in Seattle and they saw the flashing light from an ambulance approaching the plane.

The man was brought out, and then the rest of the passengers were allowed to get off.

Ella had slept through the whole thing, and Sebastián carried the groggy girl out of the plane, leaving only Callie and Arizona.

Callie stared at the blonde.

"You…" the latina started.

Arizona tilted her head and studied Callie questioningly. The brunette looked flustered.

"I what?" Arizona whispered softly and pulled a lock of dark hair behind Callie's ear. The blonde didn't think much of what she had just done. Saving lives was her job. She did it every day.

Callie looked down and shook her head with a smile. Then she looked up and locked eyes with Arizona.

"Nothing, you're…you're extraordinarily amazing. And I love you"

It had been 10 weeks since Arizona realized that she was crazy about Callie. Eight weeks since their first kiss. Five weeks since they had sex the first time. And now it had been one second since Callie's had said 'I love you'.

Arizona swallowed.

"Too soon?" Callie asked with a small cheeky smile.

Arizona let go of a breath.

"Not at all" she then said "Not at all" She chuckled "I just…I just wasn't prepared. And I never imagined I'd be saying this on a plane, I mean, I hate planes, but, I love you too"

Callie's beautiful face lit up and her lips pulled into a radiant smile. She leaned her forehead against Arizona's, and then she pressed her lips against the blonde's.

They were pulled out of their bubble when someone behind them cleared their throat. It was the captain who smiled at them.

"Well, now that we've established that you guys love each other, maybe you can get off my plane so I can get home to my wife?" he laughed.

Both women blushed, grabbed their bags, and walked towards the exit. He shook both their hands and thanked Arizona for saving the other passenger's life.

After getting their luggage they met with Sebastián and Ella in the parking garage.

"Did you see the ambulance, tia Callie?" Ella yelled as soon as she caught sight of the two women.

Callie let go of a sigh "It's going to be a long ride home with that one in the car" she said in an exasperated voice.

Arizona chuckled.

"Yes, I saw the ambulance, baby" Callie then said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

"Now she want to become a…" Sebastián started.

"Doctor!" Ella yelled "Then I can help the little kids in the hospital, right Arizona?"

"That sounds great, sweetheart" Arizona said, squatted, and received a big hug from the little girl.

"No more army?" Callie asked.

Ella put her hands on her hips and took on an almost grown up expression.

"No. The army is too far away. The hospital is close to papa's house so I can visit him even when I grow up. And Arizona can help me at the hospital. If you and Arizona are girlfriends with each other you also have to live together and then we will all live in the same place FOREVER. And dad can make another daughter so I can have a sister. And we can also go camping, and, and…"

The girl's voice was muffled by Sebastián's arm as he gently pushed her into the backseat of the car to stop her from babbling.

"Time for that birds and bees talk. I don't need to tell you that you won't be able to produce another daughter all alone, do I?" Callie mockingly said to Sebastián and wiggled her eyebrows at him.

"I thought that maybe you could explain that to her?" he said with a pleading look.

"I'll volunteer" Arizona said and the siblings both turned and looked at her.

"I explain it to kids at the hospital all the time" the blonde said "You wouldn't believe the questions I get"

Sebastián and Callie smiled at her.

"On one condition though" the blonde then said "I get another minute with Callie before you drive her home, Sebastián"

"You've got a deal" the man said, gave Arizona a hug and got in the car to wait for her and Callie to have a minute.

Arizona was going to go straight to the hospital to start a night shift, and the thought of not seeing Callie for a while made her sad.

"I don't want to go to work. And I don't want you to go home. I want us to be together. I know that when we part now it will be a few days before we see each other. Actually, we haven't even talked about when, and it makes me feel slightly unbalanced. Does that sound needy? Clingy?"

"Who cares! I feel the same way" Callie chuckled, put her hands on Arizona's hips and pulled the blonde closer.

Arizona smiled.

"How about you call me when your shift ends tomorrow morning and then we'll make plans for as many days as our schedule allows?" Callie suggested.

"That sounds really good"

And so they parted. Arizona watched as Sebastián backed the car out of the booth, and all three Torreses waved at her.

They already felt like family. It scared Arizona. But it also made her feel very, very good.


	26. Chapter 26

**CHAPTER 26**

She barely pulled through her night shift. It was slow and she was tired. And she already missed Callie.

Mark caught her staring at her phone more than once.

"Maybe you should just write her. And then she'll write you" he chuckled.

She hit him on the shoulder.

"It's the middle of the night. I don't want to wake her up. And I'm...I'm trying not to seem too needy. I mean, I just spent four whole days with her. I should be able to make it through a night without a text or a call"

"She's not a guy. She won't find you needy. She likes you. A lot. Believe me" he said "She...she...looks at you in a certain way. Just...she's crazy about you"

Arizona sighed and then went back to staring at her phone for a few minutes. And then she wrote Callie.

 **This night is dragging by. Miss you already! - A**

Less than a minute later she got a response.

 **It's dragging by here too. I'm awake thinking about you :-) - C**

Mark noticed the smile that was now gracing the blonde's face.

"See! She's crazy about you!" he said, patted her on the back and left the staff lounge.

Arizona read the message thirty times. And then she called the latina.

Callie was still awake, but her voice was husky with sleep.

"Hey" she breathed out when she picked up.

"Hey" Arizona whispered.

"When are you off?" Callie asked.

"At 7" Arizona sighed.

"I fly out at 9" Callie said "What about Tuesday?"

"Tuesday I finish at 5pm"

"Then Tuesday it is" Callie then said.

"A day and a half" Arizona counted out loud.

"Yes"

"I think I can handle that" Arizona then chuckled "I _THINK._ I can't promise anything"

Callie also laughed.

"Me neither. Come here straight after work, okay?"

"I will"

They hung up, and Arizona felt a little bit better now that she knew when she was going to see the latina again.

The next day and a half kept dragging by though.

Tuesday at 4pm she was pulled into a trauma that lasted until 7. The patient died. And Arizona was running late. And she missed Callie. It almost made her cry.

She ran to the changing room, showered and dressed in no time. During the surgery she'd had one of the nurses call Callie to tell the latina that she would be late, so she didn't pause to call Callie. She just wanted to get to the latina's place as fast as possible.

She jumped in her car and drove to Yesler Way as fast as she could.

When Callie opened the door, the latina looked surprised.

"Oh, I thought you wouldn't be here till later... I mean, the nurse sounded..."

She didn't get any more words out before Arizona's lips were on hers. Arizona pulled at Callie's shirt, and finally managed to get her hand underneath it, directing her palm towards Callie's breast.

Callie was immediately responding to the blonde's touch. Her nipples hardened, and she moaned into Arizona's kisses.

The latina dragged them backwards towards the bedroom, and when they got there, Arizona pulled Callie's shirt and bra off and then proceeded to opening Callie's pants and pulling both them and her panties off as well.

Callie reached out her hands and started undoing the button of Arizona's pants. The latina was now naked, and she needed Arizona to be naked too. She needed to feel the blonde's skin against her own.

Arizona stopped Callie's hand and with regret in her voice she said "I just got my period"

She wanted to be naked. She wanted to have sex with Callie. But she was bleeding. And that – to her – meant no nakedness and no letting Callie touch her. She wanted to please Callie though. So much.

Callie's response surprised her.

"So?"

The latina seemed genuinely surprised.

"Uhm...I'm bleeding..." Arizona tried.

"So?"

Arizona didn't know what to say.

Callie smiled, and then she took Arizona's hand and walked into the bathroom.

"Take off your clothes" she said.

"Callie..."

"Just do it"

Arizona sighed, and then she slowly took all her clothes off. Except for her panties.

" _All_ your clothes" Callie empathized.

Arizona cringed slightly when she pulled off her panties, exposing the blood stained pad she'd grabbed from the hospital supply room. She was worried that it would turn Callie off completely.

But the brunette wasn't even looking at her. Callie was busy getting the shower running, and as soon as Arizona's panties were off, she was pulled under the warm spray of the shower by a naked and smirking latina.

The warm water and the way Callie pulled her close immediately made her relax.

She felt Callie's warm and slick body pressed up against her own, and soon she also felt Callie's hand between her legs. Her immediate instinct was to pull away and out of Callie's hold, but the brunette simply pulled her back in and continued what she had started.

It felt amazing. And when Arizona let her own hand run in between the latina's legs, she was greeted with a wetness that meant that Callie also found the situation amazing.

It was fast and rough and lasted less than five minutes.

They leaned their foreheads against each other's while breathing heavily as the last waves of their orgasms rolled through them.

"I will never _not_ touch you when you have your period" Callie said "Do you understand?"

"Yes" Arizona whispered and nodded.

"Good. Now we'll get dressed and watch a million episodes of something crappy, and I'll give you a foot rub"

Callie showed Arizona her megawatt smile, quickly put a towel around herself and walked out of the bathroom.


	27. Chapter 27

**CHAPTER 27**

Fitting a pilot schedule with a surgeon schedule proved difficult.

More often than not they only had a few hours together before one of them had to get up in the middle of the night or run out the door in the afternoon to get to work. They made it work the best way they could.

One morning they met on the parking lot of a supermarket situated halfway between the hospital and the airport.

They laughed at the arrangement but enjoyed being able to share some kisses after two days of not seeing each other.

"What are we gonna do when we have kids?" Arizona chuckled. And then she immediately regretted her words and the meaning they carried. She had let her secret little hope for the future slip. And it was too soon.

Callie stared at her for a few seconds and then opened her mouth to say something. Arizona beat her to it.

"God, I didn't mean… I take that back. I take it back. Please… It's too soon… Please…"

"I gotta go" was all Callie said. She looked uncomfortable. And then she got into her car and drove off.

Arizona facepalmed herself and cursed out loud.

"Shit!"

She stood there, next to her car for a while, contemplating whether she should follow Callie to the airport or simply wait and talk to the latina later. She had a shift to get to, so it would have to wait.

When she arrived at the hospital and changed into scrubs, she sent Callie a message.

 **Will I see you tonight? I'll be home at 7. - A**

She never got an answer. And Callie didn't pick up when she called her later. And when the evening arrived and Arizona walked from her car to her apartment building, she was absolutely sure that her words, her stupid, stupid words had broken something between them.

She cursed herself for assuming. For moving too fast. For not being able to hold back.

She was so deep in her thoughts, that when she looked up and saw Callie standing in front of the main door to her building, she gasped in surprise.

"Callie…"

As soon as they made eye contact, the brunette blurted out "I can't have children"

"Wha…" Arizona started.

"I can't have children. I want children. But I can't... _carry_ them"

"Callie..."

"There was too much damage…I just thought you should know. I mean...I...I'm sorry I ran today. I just got…scared"

"Why?"

"Because I…because I think I'm going to want to marry you some day. And I am also pretty sure that I am going to want to have children with you…only, I can't…"

Arizona swallowed, and then she said in a half whisper "If you can't carry them, I will"

They didn't speak of children after that. Arizona's pager ordered her back to the hospital before they had a chance to really talk, and for a few days after that they were both too busy to see each other. And when they spoke on the phone, none of them touched on the subject.

When they finally saw each other on Friday afternoon, they went directly to ripping each other's clothes off.

The rays of the afternoon sun were spilling through the windows of Callie's apartment. The latina was on the couch, wearing the harness, and Arizona was straddling her, riding the strap-on.

It felt so good that little white sprinkles appeared in front of Arizona's eyes as her orgasm got closer.  
The sprinkles disappeared though because just as the blonde was ready to tumble over the edge, she was interrupted by the sound of a key opening Callie's front door, and Sebastián and Ella stepping into the living room.

The two women were in plain view on the couch in the middle of the room.

"God!" Arizona gasped and pressed herself closer to Callie so that both their bodies were hidden.

"Shit!" Callie hissed out.

"Uh, uh, uh" Sebastián stuttered, and then he quickly turned around and pulled Ella back out the door. Luckily the girl was too preoccupied with a game on Sebastián's phone to look up and see the two naked women and what they were doing.

Arizona got off Callie who swiftly pulled off the harness, put on a robe and went after her two family members.

Arizona could hear them from inside the living room. Sebastián sounded flustered and apologetic.

"I'm so sorry, Callie! I called... And wrote... You didn't answer... I just assumed you were working...or out. I got called into an overnight seminar in Bellingham. We just wanted to stop by to get Mr. Teddy for Ella"

"You're taking her with you?"

"Well, I couldn't get a hold of you and the new babysitter is out of town"

There was a silence.

"She can stay here, Sebastián"

"Callie... Obviously you are...busy"

Arizona - now dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt appeared behind Callie.

She smiled at Ella and then looked at Callie and Sebastián.

"It's fine. We were...uh...just getting ready to watch some cartoons anyways" the blonde said.

Ella's eyes shot into the widest state Arizona had ever seen them in. She looked beyond excited.

"Cartoons?" she asked.

"Yes" Arizona said with a genuine smile "And we were also just talking about how wonderful it would be if you could be here to watch them with us"

Ella looked at Callie who smiled and winked at the little girl. The latina was melting at how amazing Arizona was with the little girl - even though the blonde had just been interrupted.

"You're life savers" Sebastián said and handed Callie Ella's bag "I can probably be here tomorrow at noon"

"Just in time to send us off for a lunch that you're paying" Callie said with a cheeky smile.

Sebastián chuckled and nodded before he kissed Ella goodbye.

They ordered pizza and then watched 'Frozen'. Arizona enjoyed listening to Ella and Callie singing along to the songs and Ella knowing the movie so well that she lipsync'ed all the dialogue.

When it was time for Ella to go to bed, the little girl procrastinated by telling Arizona her whole life story and insisting on having Callie read not just one but three goodnight stories. It was almost as if she knew that she was the only thing standing between Callie and Arizona getting naked again.

Ella finally went to sleep and then Callie and Arizona sat down on the couch, taking a breather after 4 hours of non-stop Ella.

"Thanks for being a good sport" Callie said.

"I do it because I know you'll make it up to me" Arizona said and gave the latina a sexy wink.

The blonde's husky voice and bedroom eyes lit a fire in Callie.

"Bedroom. Now" she said and pulled Arizona off the couch. Arizona giggled at the sudden shift, but was immediately aroused at the prospect of what was going to happen.

Callie pushed her on the bed and quickly locked the door to the room. She pulled off Arizona's clothes, and buried her head between Arizona's legs. The feeling of having Callie's warm and soft tongue on her clit made Arizona gasp out in pleasure.  
Only two minutes later she was rapidly nearing her high. She didn't get there thought because once again they were interrupted.

They heard the sound of someone trying to turn the door knob, and then Ella's voice coming from the other side of the door.

"Tia Callie?!"

"No. Nonono" Arizona said as Callie pulled back and got up.

The blonde let her head fall back in desperation and disappointment as Callie looked at her apologetically and pulled a blanket over her.

The latina was still dressed, so she opened the door. In peaked the cute head of the little girl. Her hair was tousled and she looked sleepy and slightly scared.

Callie squatted in front of the girl.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Callie asked.

Very much aware that only a few moments earlier her mouth had been on Arizona, she did not pull the girl into a hug. Arizona noticed and knew, so she wrapped the sheet around her tightly and got out of bed to go and give the girl a hug.

"Go wash" she whispered at Callie and gave the latina a reassuring smile.

When Callie got back out of the bathroom, dressed for the night, Arizona and Ella were both on the bed. Ella was in the blonde's lap, and Arizona was soothing her by running a hand through her hair and over her face.  
The scene looked so serene, it made Callie wish for so many things with Arizona.

Arizona looked back at her and gave her the sweetest smile. The blonde looked a bit tired. But she also looked radiant. And happy.

Callie sat down next to them on the bed.

Ella was almost dozing off when she croaked "Can I sleep here with you, Arizona?"

"Yes, sweetheart" the blonde whispered, and lay the girl down in the middle of the bed. Arizona kept caressing the girl until a couple of minutes later, she was fast asleep.

The two women lay down on either side of the girl, and after casting one long and loving glance at each other, they fell asleep.

Next morning Arizona was the first one to wake up. She'd had a very vivid naughty dream, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she turned towards the person who had gotten her worked up in dreamland. She needed Callie. Now.

Between herself and Callie though, lay Ella, spread out like a star fish, Callie leaning a protective hand on her belly.

Arizona sighed and looked at the ceiling. The throbbing between her legs would not cease now. She'd been interrupted twice the night before and once in her dreams. She. Needed. Release.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a stirring in the bed. Before she registered what was happening, Callie had gotten up, walked around to her side of the bed, pulled her into a standing position, and guided her into the bathroom.

The latina locked the door behind them.

And there they stood. In front of each other. Arizona extremely aroused, and Callie with a cheeky smirk.

"Callie..."

"I could hear you get warmer and warmer all the way across the bed" the latina said.

"It's just... I dreamed about you...and me..."

"What did you dream?" the latina husked as she stepped up to Arizona and put her hands on the blonde's hips.

"I...I...I dreamed we were at my place..."

Callie started placing soft kisses on Arizona's neck and sucked at her ear lobe. It made Arizona shiver.

"And?"

"And you..." The feeling of Callie's lips against her skin was making it hard for Arizona to form words.

"And I?"

"You...you were taking me...from behind"

Callie pulled Arizona towards the sink and turned the blonde so that Arizona was facing the mirror and had her back to Callie.  
They made eye contact in the mirror.

Callie let a hand run down Arizona's front, and snaked it into the blonde's pyjamas shorts. She immediately placed three fingers on Arizona's clit and started rubbing. Slowly.

"Like this?" Callie whispered in Arizona's ear.

Arizona clenched her jaw at the delicious feeling and simply nodded. She was holding on tight to the edge of the table and tried not to be too loud in her moaning.

Callie knew what she was doing, and looking into Callie's eyes in the mirror while feeling Callie's warm hand against her sex made the white sprinkles of the previous day reappear in front of her eyes. Everything felt amazing.

But, after only a few minutes, once again the sound of someone trying to open the door ripped the women out of their sexy bubble.

"Tia Callie?! I have to pee! A LOT" an exasperated Ella yelled. 

Callie immediately stopped what she was doing and pulled her hand away from Arizona.

Arizona let her head fall forward.

"I'm gonna cry" she said. It made Callie laugh.

"Don't laugh! I'm desperate!" Arizona said only half joking.

"After Sebástian picks her up, I will make it ALL up to you. I promise" Callie whispered with sincerity while opening the door and stepping aside so that Ella could pass her and run to the toilet. 

As the girl was peeing she talked non-stop, making it hard for Arizona to collect her thoughts after – once again – being interrupted right before her release.

She gave up putting her thoughts in order, and simply ended up asking "Who wants pancakes for breakfast?"

"MEEEEEEEE!" Ella yelled, and Arizona and Callie couldn't help but chuckle at the girl.

The women took turns showering and afterwards Arizona whipped up some pancake dough.

They ate while chatting about different countries and languages. Ella had made a friend on the playground that didn't speak English and she was interested in knowing what other languages were out there than the two she knew.

Then – after eating 6 pancakes – the girl was silent for a while, which was usually a sign that she was cooking up a complicated question.

"Where do babies come from?" Ella's clear voice rang through the kitchen.

Callie and Arizona looked at each other.

"You promised Sebastián you'd have the talk with her" Callie said and winked at the blonde.

Arizona smiled and shook her head a little bit. She took a deep breath and looked at Ella.

"Ella, you know how women are sometimes pregnant and have big bellies?"

"Yes"

"Well, inside the bellies are babies"

Ella's eyes went wide.

"You were a baby inside your mom's belly once"

"How did I get in there?"

"Well, your mom and your dad loved each other very much, so they made you together, with their love"

"How?"

"Well, they kissed each other, and they…"

"They took off their clothes! Right?" Ella asked with enthusiasm.

"Yes they did" Arizona nodded.

Callie motioned for Arizona to not go into any more detail and whispered "Don't tell her anything you don't want spread all over Catholic school"

"Point taken"

Their little exchange went unnoticed by Ella who was deep in thoughts.

"Hmmm, I still don't understand exactly how" Ella then said contemplatively.

"That's okay. You'll understand it when you get a bit older" Arizona said and pulled the girl close "But if you ever have any questions, you should just ask your dad or Callie or another grown up person that you trust, okay?"

"Can I ask you?"

Arizona looked at Callie. The latina gave her a sweet smile. And then Arizona looked back at Ella.

"Yes, you can also ask me"

Arizona returned to her cooking and Ella was silent for a few minutes.

"I think I want to have two babies when I grow up" she then said.

"That sounds like a good amount" Arizona said. Ella looked proud of herself.

"How many babies do you want, tia Callie?"

"Oh...uh...I'm...I...don't know" Callie stuttered while trying not to make eye contact with Arizona. The talk of babies had been opened only a few days prior, in a parking lot, and since the two women hadn't continued the talk, Callie was still unsure of how Arizona felt. The blonde had acted like Callie's inability to carry children wasn't a problem to Arizona. Acted like they would figure things out. Said that she would carry whatever children they would have. But still, Callie was unsure of the whole thing.

Her and Arizona were still new.

"I think three" Ella then said. And then she turned to Arizona "Don't you think, Arizona?"

Arizona blinked. She looked at Callie. Wonderful, beautiful, amazing Callie.

"I think three sounds perfect" she then said without breaking eye contact with the latina.

Her words made Callie swallow thickly.

"I think you and tia Callie should both have the three babies...uh...I mean, you should both be the moms" Ella continued, sounding a little bit unsure of what the technicalities of such an arrangement would be "My friend Emma has two mommies. And they're really cool!" From there the girl started babbling about the wonders of Emma's mothers, but Arizona and Callie had stopped listening. They were simply looking at each other across the kitchen.

An hour later Sebastián came to pick up Ella.

"So, where are you going for the lunch I owe you?" he asked the two women while helping Ella put her shoes on.

Callie looked at Arizona.

"Oh, I think we'll just order in" the latina said.

They said their goodbyes, and as soon as Callie closed the door, she was all over Arizona, tugging down the blonde's pants, and pulling at her shirt.

"Let's...let's pick up where we left it before they came yesterday" Callie panted. She got the strap-on out of the bedroom, put it on, and sat down on the couch, pulling Arizona in over her lap.

Arizona was wet. Very wet. She quickly lowered herself onto the strap-on, and started riding Callie.

It didn't take long. The sexual frustration of the previous 20 hours evaporated and left was nothing but pleasure.

Callie could feel how Arizona was shaking as she tumbled into the orgasm, and the way Arizona looked when she came, and the friction caused by the strap-on, made Callie follow the blonde into bliss.

They stayed on the couch, both letting their fingers run over the other's body.

They lay there, silent, for a while, completely lost in touching each other's skin. It was Callie who spoke first.

"So, three kids, huh?" she said.

Arizona stopped what she was doing and looked up.

"Callie...I..."

"I like that thought" Callie interrupted "A lot"


	28. Chapter 28

**CHAPTER 28**

In the evening they went out for dinner, and Arizona couldn't keep her eyes of Callie. All day they had both been in sweats but now the latina was wearing the most amazing dress Arizona had ever seen. It was short and black, left Callie's back bare, and had a low cleavage.

Callie's long dark hair, her eyes and the glow of her skin made Arizona question whether she'd be able to make it through dinner without ravishing the brunette. She also noticed how the latina was turning heads as they walked through the restaurant. It made her both a little jealous and very proud. Callie was hers.

"I can't concentrate when you're wearing that dress" Callie leaned over the table and whispered with a wink.

Arizona looked down at her dark blue dress and then smiled at the latina.

"Really," Callie continued "you look amazing. And I already can't wait to take it off you"

Arizona shook her head, trying to rid it of the naughty thoughts that were forming.

"Please, Callie, let's try to eat and talk. Later we can...take off our clothes"

They both laughed.

"You need to distract me then" Callie chuckled.

"Okay" Arizona said and took a sip of her wine "I'll tell you about my neighbor trouble. I need to start searching for an apartment. My neighbor brings women – A LOT of women - home which, God bless him, is great. For him. But I don't get much sleep when he's...'entertaining'. Loudly. I called a realtor who says there's nothing out there right now. Do you think your brother knows somebody who's selling?"

Callie simply stared at the blonde. And suddenly she couldn't hold back the thought she'd carried around for a few weeks.

"What if you...didn't find another apartment...?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if you moved in with me?"

Arizona swallowed.

"You...you want to live with me?"

"Well, yeah" Callie said.

Arizona was surprised. She loved Callie. And she loved the idea of living with the latina. She just hadn't really been prepared for Callie to ask her.

"I...I..."

"If you think it's too soon..." Callie started.

"No no, no no no, don't take it back, Callie, just let me...just give me a second"

Arizona's flustered look and the urgency in her voice made Callie smile.

The blonde looked at Callie for a few seconds. And then she took a deep breath.

"I'd...I'd love to live with you"

"That makes me very happy" Callie said. She grabbed Arizona's hands across the table.

"I...I...Callie...it's..."

Callie's smile grew wider.

"It's a little overwhelming? I know. Don't think about it too much, and simply think of all the wonderful dinners I'll cook for you"

Arizona blushed a little. Sometimes she felt like she'd gone from zero to everything with Callie in a very short amount of time and sometimes it felt like they'd been together forever. Most of the time though, everything felt like perfect timing.

"You're very far from the hospital, Callie"

"Well, then let's find a place closer to the hospital"

"But...you'll be too far from the airport"

"I'll live. Don't worry"

It took them less than a month to find an apartment they both liked. One of Sebastián's friends knew someone who owned rental units pretty close to Seattle Grace. And he only took in new renters if they came with a recommendation from someone he knew.

The place was perfect. It had two bedrooms and a large kitchen-living room area.

Callie hated leaving Arizona to go to work though. She hated being in Washington, Dallas, Kansas or wherever when Arizona was in Seattle.

It was quickly starting to make her feel like the planes she flew were too heavy to get off the ground. Like the asphalt of the Seattle airport was pulling her back so she couldn't leave the blonde for even the shortest of flights to the Midwest or the South.

And she didn't know what to do about it.

But then one afternoon she was in the park next to the hospital, having a late lunch with Mark. She was complaining about the long days her and Arizona went without seeing each other and how texting each other at weird hours of the day just didn't cut it for them.

"I just miss her when I go. That's all" she sighed.

"Why don't you just become a writer or something then?" Mark joked.

"I'm serious, Mark!" she retorted "I…I want to be with her so bad. All the time. And it's making it very hard for me to fly off to Miami, have a two day lay-over, fly from there to Boston, from Boston to Chicago, have another lay-over, and then return to Seattle after a week. It used to be fun. But it isn't anymore"

"They're looking for someone here, you know" Mark then said.

"What do you mean?"

"The three biggest Seattle hospitals all have roof runways designed for a short takeoff and landing aircraft. It's how they move organs, personnel and equipment around"

"I assume they have helipads as well?"

"Yes, they also use helicopters, but sometimes they need organs, patients and other things transported to or from a little bit further away, like Vancouver. I guess the plane works better for that. The plane always finishes the day here"

"And they need a pilot?"

"Yeah. Imagine that; you and I would be able to have lunch together every day" he said and wiggled his eye brows.

"I love you, Mark, but there's someone else I'd rather have lunch with"

"It would mean giving up on those large dreamliners though" Mark said with a serious look in his eyes.

"Yeah" she breathed out "Well, some things are more important than large, luxurious airplanes"

Callie didn't tell Arizona about the interview. And she had instructed Mark not to either.

Two weeks after their talk in the park she got the call; they wanted her. She would be the new Seattle Grace based pilot. Actually she would be the head of the pilot team.

She called Arizona and asked the blonde to come to the roof of the hospital. Arizona showed up half an hour later.

"Surgery ran long, sorry" she said and gave Callie a quick peck on the lips "Why are we here?" she then asked and wrapped her cardigan around herself. It was windy and a bit cold on the roof.

"This" Callie started "is my new office"

Arizona looked around. The blonde furrowed her brow. She had no idea what Callie was talking about.

Callie put her hands on her hips and looked down the 750 feet runway. She already knew the exhilarating roller coaster like drop the small plane would make after racing off the edge of the building. It made her smile.

"I work here now" Callie said with a smirk.

Arizona still looked like she had no idea what was going on.

Before Callie had a chance to elaborate, Mark came sprinting through the door to the roof, grabbed Callie, and lifted her into the air.

"I just heard – congratulations" he said excitedly.

"Wha… What's going on?" Arizona felt suddenly left out.

"I'm the new transport pilot" Callie said with a large smile.

Arizona didn't blink.

"I'll be working here now. Every day"

Still nothing came out of Arizona.

"Which means we'll see each other every day" Callie continued.

Still nothing.

"Surprise?" Callie tried.

"You applied for a new job without telling me? A job at my job?" Arizona asked with a hint of anger in her voice.

"I thought…I thought it'd be nice to be a bit closer"

"I don't believe this!" Arizona then said, turned around and left Callie and Mark.

"Arizona!" Callie tried, but the blonde opened the door to the stairwell and was gone. Callie looked at Mark who looked as puzzled as herself.

"What just happened?" she said.

He shrugged his shoulders.

Callie tried to call Arizona a few times, but the blonde didn't pick up. She went home in the evening and waited for Arizona. Callie knew that Arizona got off at 7, but she didn't show up till 10 o'clock.

When she came through the door, Callie was on the couch, reading, and when Arizona saw her, the blonde almost cried. The latina looked so sweet and sexy and delicious in her reading glasses. And Arizona felt bad.

Callie put the book down, stood up, and folded her arms across her chest.

Arizona put down her purse and took off her jacket. Then she faced Callie.

"You need to tell me what's wrong because I don't think it has anything to do with me surprising you with this. I just want more time with you. And more time at the community Center. And that can't be bad" Callie said.

Arizona looked at the latina. Callie looked so confident and sincere.

"It's because…I don't like that you're flying" she then said.

Callie opened her mouth to say something, but Arizona stopped her.

"Please, let me finish" The blonde took a deep breath "I tolerate it because I know you love it, but I'm scared, every time you fly off to somewhere, I'm scared that you won't come back. And now you'll be taking off and landing right above my head. It's too close. It's too much"

"Arizona…"

"I…I don't trust planes"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes"

"Then trust me with the planes, okay?"

"I don't know…I…Callie…I…"

"Please…" Callie said softly and pulled Arizona into her arms.

Feeling Callie's arms around her made Arizona fall into a giant pool of trust. Planes scared her. But Callie didn't.

And she'd secretly been longing for more time with Callie too, so right at that moment she decided to put away her fear and simply enjoy that Callie and her would now be seeing a lot more of each other.


	29. Chapter 29

**CHAPTER 29**

Callie's first ten weeks in the new job went extremely well. Of course everybody loved her from the beginning. And Arizona loved having her around more.

But on a Wednesday afternoon things changed.

The weather was horrible. Callie was in the pilot office at Seattle Grace, going over the weather report. She knew that downstairs, in one of the ORs, was a whole team of doctors, getting an organ out of deceased patient, and that the organ needed to go to Portland as soon as it was ready.

It was a short flight. But the wind seemed to be brewing on something. Like it was cooking up a storm.

"I don't feel too good about this" the second pilot said.

Callie looked up at him and saw something very dangerous in his eyes; fear.

She thought of the person who was going to receive the organ. She couldn't fly with a scared pilot. It was a number one rule in the Air Force. If you're scared, you don't go up.

"I'll fly alone" she then said.

"But..."

"I'll. Fly. Alone" she repeated.

She knew it would be dangerous. That it would take all her skills. And she didn't want to have the risk of a scared second pilot hanging around while she was up there, so she signed him off the flight.

Twenty minutes later she was in the plane looking out the open side door and the two doctors who rushed to the plane with the organ container held between them. They loaded it into the plane while Callie started the engine.

Unbeknownst to her, a message had arrived from Arizona.

 **Still flying to Portland? Looks a little rough out there. Be careful, please - A**

She got in the air without reading Arizona's message.

The first part of the flight was fine, but then the rough weather turned into a thunderstorm which was the one thing Callie had been praying to avoid. She was halfway between Seattle and Portland, and all she thought about was the organ sitting in the plastic protected styrofoam container next to her. Someone was waiting for it.

The weather kept getting worse – much worse than the weather report had guessed. It got bad. Very bad. So bad that if Callie had known, even she wouldn't have gotten in the air.

She was there now though, and as she started searching the equipment for a safe place to land close to Mt. Saint Helen, the only thing Callie couldn't control, happened; the plane got hit by lightning.

It was so powerful that it blew the whole electrical system to pieces and caused an explosion in the cockpit. Wires and pieces of metal flew through the air at lightning speed and Callie closed her eyes and held her breath.

She hesitated because she knew it was going to be bad, but after a few seconds she opened her eyes, looked down at her thigh, and saw the large piece of metal sticking out of her body. It made her do a sharp intake of air and hiss out in pain.

"Shit!" she said "Shit, shit, shit!"

She grabbed the metal, looked ahead, and then ripped the piece out of her leg. The pain almost made her pass out, but she also felt a relief. It gave her enough strength to tie a band around her thigh to stop the bleeding.

A coldness rushed through her as she tried to steady the plane and make the navigation system kick back into gear. No part of the system responded though. She wiped her face, getting rid of some of the blood coming from her forehead and nose.

Smoke coming from the engine made it hard for her to orientate. She did see though how the mountainside came closer and closer. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. There was no way she'd be able to pull the plane back up. The plane was going to crash. And she was going to go down with it unless she got the hell out of there.

She pulled the parachute straps up her arms and fastened the belt around her waist. And then she opened the door and jumped out the plane in one fluid motion, like exiting a plane at a high altitude was second nature to her. She knew there was no time. And she knew that in life threatening situations you can never waste time thinking things over and over. You need to act. Iraq had taught her that.

She fell fast in the beginning, but pulled the strap that soon made the parachute jerk her backwards in a both strong and slow hold in the dark grey sky.

The plane continued, and she watched how it shattered itself against a mountainside in the distance.

Less than three minutes later she saw how the ground was approaching at a rapid speed. She started moving her legs to hit the ground moving, but her right leg simply wasn't up for the task.

She hit the ground hard and was sure she heard a cracking sound in her left wrist. It hurt. Everything hurt. Her leg, her head, her wrist. But she was now on the ground. In one piece.


	30. Chapter 30

**CHAPTER 30**

When Arizona heard, she nearly fainted.

It seemed like too much of a completely ridiculous joke. But it wasn't. The plane was missing. And so was Callie.

Mark was there, and he immediately pulled Arizona into his arms and held the blonde until her breathing went back to normal.

She looked at him.

"She can't... God, Mark, the plane is so small"

"She's okay" he croaked "She has to be okay"

From then on all they did was wait.

A few hours later their chief came in and informed them that the remains of the plane had been found on Mount Saint Helen and that there was no sign of Callie.

"God!" Arizona gasped and Mark whispered "Mount Saint Helen?"

"That's good, right? She must have gotten out?" Arizona then hopefully said through tears of fear.

"Yeah. Yeah" Mark breathed out and took her into another hug. He wasn't too sure, but he was going to hold on to hope.

170 miles away from Seattle Grace Callie was on the mountainside, in pain. She looked out over the forests and at the dark gray skies. She was shaking with cold and with the stiffness she was starting to feel in her right thigh and leg.

She shook her head to clear it, and started going through her clothes and the parachute bag.

She nearly cried when she found the lighter in the parachute first aid belt. She just sat with it in her hand for a while, gathering strength enough to move around for a bit. She was scared. Scared to feel the pain in her leg. Scared of realizing how bad it was. Scared that this new injury would be what would finally take her.

She thought of Arizona, and the image of the doctor and her beautiful dimpled face sent jolts of lightning through Callie's body.

She couldn't do this to the blonde. She couldn't stay and die here. She wanted to see Arizona again. She needed to get out. And so she got up. The pain shot from her thigh through the rest of her body and she screamed and clenched her jaw.

She steadied herself and then spent a few minutes limping around, finding the driest twigs possible. She also cut pieces of the parachute and some of the parachute string which she was sure would burn well.

And then she gathered it all and tried to light it.

She must have let her thumb run down the spark wheel of the lighter 200 times before the flame finally caught some of the material. She held her breath and leaned back a bit as to allow the small flames to gather strength without her intrusion.

She immediately got up again and gathered bigger twigs and branches that she slowly loaded onto the fire to make it bigger. More visible.

When the flames rose higher, Callie started laughing. She'd made a big fire, and if she could just keep it going, at some point, someone would find her. Unless the wildlife found her first.

A rescue helicopter picked her up 10 hours later. The rescue crew had spotted the smoke coming off the mountain side right before the fire died out. It was in the nick of time.

Callie went into septic shock during the transport back to Seattle.

Arizona had gotten the call 15 minutes earlier and came storming through the door to the helipad reception area where Mark was already standing with group of people who were going to take care of Callie.

"Prepare yourself" Mark said "Ripped thigh, broken wrist, broken nose. Lots of cuts"

Arizona stopped in her tracks and swallowed "Ripped thigh?"

Mark looked at her and nodded "It's bad, Arizona"

When the helicopter landed, Arizona only managed a short glance of Callie as the latina was rushed by towards the OR. Callie looked pale and was covered in blood and dirt. The way she looked made Arizona burst into tears as she rushed down the hall with Mark. They were not allowed near the OR. Two nurses kept them in the staff lounge where they both paced the floor for hours.

It was the longest wait of Arizona's life.

After the surgery Callie was brought into the emergency care unit where she stayed for 5 hours until she was completely stable. After that they slowly eased her off the drugs so that she would wake up.

It was Mark that woke up Arizona to tell her the news. That Callie was awake. Arizona had fallen asleep in the staff lounge, but jumped off the couch as soon as Mark woke her up.

"I thought...I thought you should be the first to see her" he said.

Arizona swallowed and nodded.

When they got to Callie's room, Arizona hesitated. She was still scared. Mark nudged her towards the door, and then all of a sudden the blonde was no longer scared. She was hit with an overwhelming need to see Callie.

She opened the door, stepped into the room, and met Callie's dark eyes. It made her cry again, and as she stumbled towards Callie's bed, she wasn't sure if her legs were going to be able to hold her. She'd spent everything she had holding herself together while Callie had been missing, and finally seeing the latina was simply too much to handle.

"Callie..." she whispered as she put a hand on either side of Callie's face and gasped at how soft and warm the brunette felt.

Callie was bruised. She had a few small cuts on her face, a band aid across her broken nose, her wrist was in a cast, and her leg was rolled up in bindings and suspended into the air.

"I didn't get the heart out there" was the first thing she said.

"It's okay. It's okay. You're here... You're here and that's what matters" Arizona whispered into her ear "You're here"

The blonde couldn't stand to let go of Callie. She breathed in the latina's scent and it gave her such a sense of ease that she quickly moved her lips to Callie's and pulled Callie into a soft kiss.

"I..." she started "How are you feeling?"

They leaned their foreheads against each other's.

"I'm alive" Callie whispered "But everything hurts"

Arizona moved her head and looked at Callie's leg. She swallowed.

She hadn't read Callie's file, but Mark had explained the injuries to her. Had explained that Callie's thigh muscle had almost been chopped in half.

Before Arizona had a chance to say anything, a nurse came in to change Callie's bindings.

As the nurse lifted the white wrapping from around Callie's leg and Arizona saw the long suture that now adorned the latina's thigh. She gasped and held a hand in front of her mouth. Once again a mark on Callie's body told a story of horrible events.

"You…you walked around with…with that?"

Tears were once again gathering in Arizona's eyes.

Callie closed her eyes and clenched her jaw.

"I've been cut open before. It's not the pain that hurts. It's the fear. The fear of not making it out. But…"

"You made it out, baby"


	31. Chapter 31

**CHAPTER 31**

Callie stayed in the hospital for three weeks. Arizona spent a lot of her time in Callie's room with the latina, and when Callie was allowed to get up, she also accompanied the brunette to physiotherapy sessions.

It was a slow recovery, but Callie made steady progress and when the three weeks had passed, she wanted, _needed_ , to get out of the hospital. She was dying to get back to her life and to spend time with Arizona outside of the hospital walls.

She was discharged on a Wednesday, and Arizona had taken the day off. When they got home, Callie was standing by the breakfast bar, watching Arizona as the blonde was on the phone with Mark.

The latina felt good. Really good. Being home was amazing. And having Arizona there was the best thing. She studied Arizona's face as the blonde was promising Mark to take very good care of Callie. It made Callie smile.

Arizona finally hung up, put her phone down and then looked at Callie. They simply looked into each others' eyes for a few seconds.

Callie was the first one to speak.

"I…I really, really want to make love to you"

"And I really, really want you to"

"Then come here" Callie said, took a step forward while holding on to the breakfast bar, grabbed Arizona's hand, and pulled the blonde closer to the couch. Callie sat down and looked up at the blonde.

"Take off your clothes" the latina then said.

Arizona's breath hitched, and then she did as she was told. Slowly.

Callie watched while undoing her own shirt and pants.

Then Arizona straddled her thighs, careful not to put too much pressure on Callie's right leg.

Callie noticed the blonde's hesitation.

"It's okay, Arizona. My leg is fine. Please"

The softness and sincerity of Callie's voice and words made Arizona relax into Callie's body. She leaned in and kissed the brunette, and the scent of Callie's skin gave her a rush. A rush of love.

She let her hands run through Callie's wavy dark hair and touched the latina's tongue with her own. It felt so good to finally be this close. To finally _touch_.

She started moving her core against Callie's lap, and the latina grabbed her ass and then moved her hands up to cup the blonde's breasts.

"You feel so good" Callie whispered "So, so good"

Callie then moved her hand down between Arizona's legs and started rubbing the blonde's clit. The feeling made Arizona gasp out in pleasure. She knew it wouldn't take long.

"Inside, Callie, please" Arizona whispered and Callie immediately moved her hand and penetrated the blonde with two fingers. It made Arizona moan with pleasure which again made Callie shiver with love and lust for the woman.

Arizona snaked a hand down between Callie's legs and started reciprocating. The feeling of Arizona's warm fingers against her sex made Callie tumble over the edge immediately, and Arizona soon followed her.

The blonde's face was buried in Callie's neck, and Arizona held on to the brunette so tight.

"You're home" Arizona whispered with tears in her eyes. This was – in all honesty – the closest she had ever felt to anyone.


	32. Chapter 32

**CHAPTER 32**

Callie stared and stared and stared at the invitation for hours.

The Air Force were inviting her to a special remembrance ceremony to honor her and other soldiers' sacrifices in Iraq. It was going to be a big deal.

She'd never gone to the Purple Heart ceremony. The medal had simply arrived in the mail. She knew where she kept it, but she never took it out and looked at it. Up until know she simply hadn't been able to.

But now it was different.

She had Arizona now. Everything seemed lighter. Better. Brighter. She was happy. And the thought of the medal no longer made her stomach turn.

She'd been home from the hospital for four weeks, healing, and was now at a point where she could walk fairly well with a cane.

She felt so strong. So at ease. And she decided she wanted to go to the ceremony. It would be like putting lid on everything that happened in Iraq. It would make her steps forward into life with Arizona lighter.

She picked up her phone and dialed the number on the invitation.

"Combat Officer Calliope Torres calling for Major Rodriguez please"

Arizona listened to the conversation that ensued from the kitchen, and she was smiling.

Three weeks later they were standing on a grass lawn in Washington, surrounded by other ex-soldiers and their families.

Sebastián and Ella were there too.

"Tia Callie, are you going to give Arizona the present now?" Ella said and tried hard to give Callie a secretive wink.

"What present?" Arizona asked.

"Uh...nothing" Callie said while Sebastián frantically tugged at Ella's shirt to move her away from the couple.

Arizona didn't get a chance to dig deeper because the ceremony started.

There was a bit of music, and a couple of speeches by some high ranked army personnel. Arizona felt Callie take her hand, and the latina's skin felt so very soft that Arizona had a hard time letting the latina's hand go when Callie's name was called and Callie got up.

Arizona's jaw dropped when she saw Callie walking onto stage. The latina's formal Air Force uniform made her look incredibly hot. And the cane she was walking with only added to the sexiness as Arizona knew the badassery and pure survival that lay behind the need for it.

The announcer stated 'Calliope Torres, Fallujah, Purple Heart'. Then there was a pause as the general that was standing on stage hung another medal right next to the Purple Heart that hung in front of Callie's own beating one. The announcer continued 'United States of America Medal of Honor'.

The audience burst into cheers and clapping as Callie shook the hand of the general and continued on to sit next to the rest of the medal recipients.

Arizona couldn't take her eyes off her. She stared.

When the ceremony came to an end, Callie was whisked off to have some pictures taken, and Arizona went and got herself a glass of wine that she downed with a shaking hand as she watched Ella show Sebastián how good she had gotten at doing cartwheels.

Arizona's heart was beating so fast and she couldn't collect her thoughts. She stood as frozen under a blooming apple tree when Callie walked up to her.

The blonde looked nervous. And she was beautiful. Callie felt an immense amount of love when she looked at Arizona, and even though Callie hadn't known how to broach the subject yet, she was dying for them to start a family together. It was something that had been on her mind for a while.

And as they stood there in front of each other, Arizona shaking with nerves, Callie had a feeling that she wasn't alone with her thoughts. And that something was coming.

"I want to have a baby with you. Now" Arizona blurted out.

Callie didn't blink.

"You do?" she croaked.

"Yes" Arizona whispered, a few tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Well, then I guess I didn't pick the worse day to do this" Callie then said and slowly got down on one knee in front of Arizona.

Arizona put her hands in front of her mouth in surprise and shock.

"Sorry that I have to lean on this thing" Callie said with a smile while motioning to the cane "But I couldn't wait until my leg is back in shape"

And then the latina pulled a small box out of her jacket pocket.

Before she opened the box, both of them heard Ella's loud voice ring through the crowd that had gathered.

"PAPA! TIA CALLIE IS GIVING ARIZONA THE RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!"

It made both women laugh and Arizona then proceeded to burst into tears of happiness as Callie opened the box and said "Arizona, please, please, please marry me"

The blonde fell to her knees in front of Callie.

"Yes, God yes!"

 **THE END**


End file.
